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DODGE COUNTY, 
WISCONSIN, 
PAST AND 
PRESENT 



Homer Bishop Hubbell 



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NON-CIRCULATING 




NON-CIRCULATING 




p~l-(,l 



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Dodge County. Wisconsin - Past and Present 
Vol.2 



This is an exact reproduction of an original book 
Any errors that exist in the original, including typographic 
errors and errors in pagination, exist in this facsimile. 



Digital Production by 
Northern Micrographics, A Division of NMT Corporation 
La Crosse, Wisconsin 
Copyright 2001 NMT Corporation 
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Published by 
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La Crosse, Wisconsin 
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HW0688 WI0025 
ISBN 1-4035-0041-X 



DODGE COUNTY 

WISCONSIN 

Past and Present 



VOLUME II 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHICAGO 

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1913 



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Biographical 



JUDGE JAMES JEFFERSON DICK. 

Hon. James Jefferson Dick, formerly judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit, 
comprising the counties of Dodge, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee, and a 
resident of Beaver Dam, was born in Westfield, Chautauqua county, New York, 
September 8, 1836, and passed away in licavcr Dam, March 8, 1907. The 
founder of the family was James J. Dick, a native of Scotland, who came to this 
country at the age of eighteen years, settling in Vermont, where he was married 
and where James Dick, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born. Hav- 
ing learned a trade, the father settled in western New York, where he married 
Miss Mahala Rogers, a native of Pennsylvania, of Dutch descent. 

James J. Dick received his primary education in the common schools of 
Westfield, New York and this was followed by a full course in the Wester- 
field Academy. In 1856 he came with his parents to Westfield, Marquette 
county, Wisconsin, and was successfully engaged in teaching for four years 
from 1856, spending his leisure time in reading law, gaining such a knowledge 
thereof that he was able to complete the course in the law school of Albany 
within one year, graduating in June, 1861. In August, following, he came 
to Beaver Dam, where he resided until his death, actively engaged in the 
practice of his profession. As a lawyer he was faithful to his clients, skilful 
in the management of his cases and his practice extended to almost every 
branch of the profession. For three years from January, i86t, he was the 
law partner of H. W. Lander, and after that he practiced alone. In 1896 he 
was elected judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit, and was subsequently twice 
reelected, discharging the duties of this honorable and responsible office ably 
and faithfully. 

The office of judge is the only official position which Mr. Dick ever held, 
except that he was for more than two decades superintendent of schools of the 
city of Beaver Dam, and in that connection has been called the "father of the 
Beaver Dam public schools." His repeated reelection to the office of super- 
intendent of schools of his home city, regardless of politics is abundant evidence 
of the ability and fidelity he evidenced in the discharge of his official duties and 
of his popularity among his fellow citizens 

At a citizens' meeting held August 30. 1884, which resulted in the founding 
of the old Beaver Dam Public Library, of which the present Williams Free 
Public Library is the successor. Judge Dick was elected a member of the 
board of directors, a position which he held continuously until his death, being 
the last surviving member of the original board. On June 8, 1885, when the 
Beaver Dam Public Library had been accepted by the city -nd was reorganized 

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



under the laws of Wisconsin as the Free Public Library of the City of Beaver 
Dam, he was elected president of the board of directors and served most acceptably 
in that capacity during the remainder of his life — a period of twenty-two years. 
He was intensely interested in public education and fully realized the value of 
a well selected and properly conducted free public library, in the accomplish- 
ment of the great purpose which was with him a life work. To attain the 
success of this beneficent object of his ambition, he gave unsparingly of his 
time, his labor and his means ; and the high rank this library now holds among 
similar institutions of the state and nation, is due in a large degree to his loyal, 
untiring and zealous efforts in its behalf. 

On August 5, 1862, Judge Dick was married to Helen M. Drown of Beaver 
Dam, a native of Vermont, who proved to be a most worthy and congenial 
helpmate and who survives him. Mrs. Dick is a devout communicant of the 
Episcopal church. They had no children. Politically, Judge Dick was a demo- 
crat but he never aspired to or held any political office. He was a member of 
the Masonic order and the Odd Fellows and an attendant of the Episcopal 
church. 

Judge Dick died at his home, 220 Park avenue, Beaver Dam, March 8, 1907. 
He had been taken ill several weeks before at the Hotel Pfister, Milwaukee, 
after he had finished the January term of the Waukesha circuit court. His 
wife, who was spending the winter in Florida, was notified and came imme- 
diately to (Milwaukee, and from there accompanied him to their home in Beaver 
Dam a few days before his death. After his arrival home, he gradually grew 
worse and passed away, literally dying in harness, as he had always wished 
to do. The funeral was held under the auspices of Dodge County Lodge, No. 
72, F. & A. M., with an escort of Knights Templar, the honorary and active 
pallbearers being prominent representatives of the bench and bar of the circuit. 
The general attendance was very large and in respect of his memory the public 
schools were closed for the day and the business places while the funeral serv- 
ices were being held. 



The children of today who are taught along lines of modern instruction in 
our schools and academies are being trained in citizenship which will influence 
their activities as business, commercial, and professional men of tomorrow. 
The men who as teachers direct their minds and influence their character have a 
heavy and responsible duty. In their hands rests to some extent the future 
quality of citizenship, and upon their conscientiousness and ability depends the 
future of the children. A man who is doing able work along progressively 
expanding lines in school development is Edwin P. Brown, who in his capacity 
as instructor in the Wayland Academy of Beaver Dam is promoting the love 
of learning among his pupils, and as principal of that institution is doing remark- 
able disciplinary work along lines of mental and moral culture. 

Mr. Brown was born in Beaver Dam, November t8, 1869. He is a son of 
John P. and Laura (Putnam) Brown, the former a native of Williamsburg, 



EDWIN P. BROWN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



7 



Brooklyn, New York, and the latter of Plainfield, New Jersey. Mr. Brown's 
parents were married in the east and came to Wisconsin in 1864, settling imme- 
diately in Beaver Dam. The father was a prominent builder in this city and 
one of its enterprising and representative men. He was a democrat in his 
political views and served as a member of the school board for many years. 
He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was treasurer of 
that organization for twenty-five years. The mother was a devout and faithful 
member of the Baptist church, a woman of warm hospitality and optimistic 
disposition. 

Edwin P. Brown was reared at home and received his primary education 
in the public schools of Beaver Dam. He attended high school in the same 
city and was graduated in 1887. He later attended Wayland Academy and com- 
pleted the course in that institution, graduating in 1890. He afterward taught 
Latin and Greek in Gale College, Galesville, Wisconsin, spending two years 
in this occupation. From 1892 to 1894 he was enrolled as a student in Brown 
University. In 1894 he entered the University of Chicago and was graduated 
from that institution with the degree of A. B., in 1896, completing an efficient, 
broad, and thoroughly modern education. He acquired in his career as a student 
a liberal general culture which did not in any way affect his detailed knowledge 
along special lines. He has always been an intelligent and judicious leader and 
in this way has added to his splendid equipment. He served during his course 
at Brown University as principal of the evening school of Central Falls, Rhode 
Island. In this school three hundred and fifty children, chiefly workers in the 
J. and P. Coates Thread mills, were enrolled as students. At the conclusion of 
his college course he was for one year principal of the high school of Farmer 
City, Illinois, and for one year instructor in English at Morgan Park Academy of 
the University of Chicago. He is now one of the most prominent educators in 
Dodge county. His position as principal of the Wayland Academy of Beaver 
Dam, makes him an influential factor in school development. He began with this 
institution as instructor in English in 1897 and his position as principal dates 
from the year 1901. His efficient work has been recognized by a prominent place 
in the affairs of the Northern Central Association of College and Secondary 
Schools in which he has been an officer. His work along educational lines has 
been of the expanding and constructive sort which makes his activities valuable 
in affairs of this character in the state of Wisconsin. 

On August 31, 1897, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Mabel 
Vaughan, whose birth occurred on November 7, 1870. She is a daughter of 
O. D. and Al Maria (Cass) Vaughan, and is one of a family of five children, the 
others being: John, who died in early childhood; Grace L., who resides in River- 
side, California; High D., of Kelso, Washington; and Ray C, who maintains his 
residence in San Francisco, California. To Mr. and Mrs. Edwin P. Brown have 
been born two children : Hartley Vaughan Brown, whose birth occurred on 
July 2, 1899, and Robert Vaughan Brown, born July 31, 1908, both of whom 
are attending school in Beaver Dam. 

Mr. Brown is a stanch Baptist and served on the board in the Wisconsin 
State Convention of that church. In the Masonic order he belongs to Beaver 
Dam Chapter, No. 72, R. A. M. He is one of the broadly cultured and thor- 
oughly scientific teachers in Dodge county today. The conditions of modern 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



living are growing more complex each year and education must be developed to 
meet the situation. No man has done more to raise the standard of instruction 
than has Edwin P. Brown, who makes his pupils ready followers of his teachings 
by the genial and genuine quality of his friendship. 



ROYAL F. CLARK. 

One of the most promising young attorneys of Dodge and Columbia counties 
is Royal F. Clark, of Randolph, who has been practicing law in this city since 
1904. In a few years he has made himself known in the courts of Dodge 
county as an abte, logical and broadly-read lawyer and has gained a degree of 
success which is the outcome of merit. He was born in Adams county in 1881. 
a son of B. F. and Jennie (Keith) Clark. The father's birth occurred in New 
York in 1851 and when he was a young man he moved to Wisconsin, settling 
on a farm near Kilbourn, upon which he resides. His wife is a daughter of 
Josiah Keith, a native of Vermont, who emigrated to Wisconsin at an early 
date and located near Sun Prairie, afterward moving to New Haven, Adams 
county, where his death occurred at the age of eighty-nine. He is buried in 
the New Haven cemetery. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Clark settled 
on a farm in Adams county and upon this property they are residing at the 
present time. Royal F., is the next in order of birth. Four children were bom 
to their union. Edith, born in 1879, married Bradford Richmond and they 
reside on a farm south of Columbus, Wisconsin. Ruth was born in 1884 and 
died in 1901, and is buried in a cemetery at New Haven, Wisconsin. Ruby, 
born in 1887, is filling the position of private secretary to Dean Harper, of the 
Conservatory of Music of Appleton University. 

Royal F. Clark was educated in the Wisconsin public schools and is a grad- 
uate of the Portage high school. He studied law in the University of Mich- 
igan, at Ann Arbor, and immediately after being admitted to the bar entered the 
offices of H. E. Andrews and Judge Strand, in Portage. In 1904 he was 
admitted to the bar of the United States district court and on August 24 oi 
the same year came to Randolph, where he has since been practicing with con 
spicuous success. 

In June, 1907, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Bessie M. Gamble, 
a daughter of James Gamble, a former resident of Trenton, Wisconsin, who 
resides in Fox Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Gark have one son. Warren G., who was 
born in October, 1908 

Mr. Clark gives his allegiance to the republican party and although he ne\C 
seeks public office, his legal attainments won him the position of district attor- 
ney of Columbia county. He served for two years, from igo6 to 1908, and 
did able and effective work as a public official. He is well known in the 
Masonic order, holding membership in the lodge, chapter and ctnnmandcry. 
Besides various other important interests, he is identified with the Beaver Can 
ning Company of South Beaver Dam, of which he is president and a director 
As a lawyer he is recognized as a strong and able practitioner, an expert in 
unravelling legal tangles and possesses all the mental acumen necessary for 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



9 



the accomplishment of success in his difficult profession. Under all circum- 
stances he counts his honor and his self-respect as of more value than wealth, 
fame and position. However, these also have come to him and at an early 
age. He has gained that prosperity which results from earnest and well 
directed effort and is accounted one of the leading attorneys of his locality. 



D. P. LAMOREUX. 

The leaders are comparatively few. The great majority of mankind are 
content to remain in the positions where circumstances seem to place them, 
but occasionally there are found those who possess determination and initiative 
spirit sufficient to pass beyond such a point and who therefore become promi- 
in the field to which they direct their efforts. Such has been the history of 
D. P. Lamoreux. Each step in his career has been a forward one and laud- 
able ambition has led the way to success until he ranks today with the promi- 
nent business men of Wisconsin. He was born December 12, 1873, a son of 
Silas Wright and Hattie Lamoreux. The father was born in Madison county, 
New York, March 8, 1843, and pursued his education in that state. He came 
to Wisconsin in 1862, when a young man of nineteen years, and during the period 
of the Civil war put aside all business and personal considerations in order to 
respond to the country's call for aid, enlisting in a regiment of Wisconsin vol- 
unteers, with which he served as captain. High political and judicial honors 
came to him ; he filled the office of state senator for one term, was district attorney 
of Dodge county for four years, was county judge for fourteen years or from 1879 
until 1893, and in the latter year was appointed commissioner of the general land 
office of the United States at Washington, in which capacity he served for four 
years. He was afterward president of the Mayville (Wis.) Exchange Bank for 
four years and successfully engaged in the practice of law, ranking with the emi- 
nent attorneys of the state. He was interested in the manufacture of malleable 
iron and has become well known in that connection. In the family were four chil- 
dren : C. W., who has served as county judge, and makes his home in Mayville ; 
H. S. ; Vivian L., the wife of W. K. Murphy ; and D. P. 

The last named was a pupil in the high school of Mayville and afterward 
entered the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1895. 
He spent three years in civil engineering and was private secretary to the gen- 
eral commissioner of the land office at Washington from 1895 unt & l %97 m_ 
clusive. He afterward spent three months in the Exchange Bank of Mayville, 
but the lure of the west attracted him and he made his way to Seattle, Wash- 
ington, where he became connected with steamship lines running their boats 
between Seattle and Alaska. On the 23d of January, 1898, he returned to 
Beaver Dam and has since been identified with the Malleable Iron Works. He 
entered the clerical department but his business ability soon won recognition 
in his promotion to the office of treasurer. Later he was made treasurer and 
manager and in August, 1909, was chosen president and general manager, which 
is his present connection with one of the most extensive and important pro- 
ductive industries of the state. He stands prominent among the business men 



10 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



who are capable of directing mammoth enterprises, who coordinate seemingly 
diverse elements into a harmonious whole and whose keen sagacity enables 
them to formulate plans that lead to successful completion. He is likewise a 
director of the German National Bank and of the Beaver Dam Manufacturing 
Company and his sound judgment and keen insight make his cooperation a 
valuable asset in the conduct of any business enterprise. 

Mr. Lamoreux stands for progress in all those lines of activity which should 
interest every public-spirited citizen. He has been a stalwart champion of the 
cause of education, a stanch advocate of the political principles which he deems 
essential in good government and a factor in local progress and improvement. 
He is a member of the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin and is 
a member of the board of trustees of the Library Association of Beaver Dam. 
He is likewise a trustee of the Wisconsin House and Farm Association and is 
president of the Great White Way Association. He belongs also to the Wis- 
consin Manufacturers Association and has served on some of its most impor- 
tant committees. For one term he served as alderman of Beaver Dam but has 
always preferred that his public duty should be done as a private citizen. He 
belongs to that class of men who wield a power which is all the more potent 
from the fact that it is moral rather than political and is exercised for the public 
weal rather than for personal ends. Fraternally he is connected with the blue 
lodge of Masons and he belongs to the Milwaukee Club, the Railway Business 
Association and the Delta Tau Delta of Madison. 

On the 19th of November, 1898, Mr. Lamoreux was married to Miss Isa- 
belle Holmes, a daughter of Mrs. Fred Bausman, of Seattle. Their children 
are: Fred S., who was born in 1900; and Bertram Holmes, in 1906. Both are 
now pupils in the public schools of Beaver Dam. "Well descended and well 
bred," reared in a life of constant and healthful activity, D. P. Lamoreux has 
made constant advancement and his actions have been of constantly broadening 
scope. Throughout his life he has held many important relations to the public 
interest and his business interests are of a character that contribute in extensive 
measure to public prosperity as well as to individual success. 



HON. EDWARD CLINTON McFETRIDGE. 

The record of few public men extend over a longer period and no life 
has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct or stainless in reputation 
than that of Edward Clinton McFetridge. Many tangible evidences can be 
cited of his devotion to the public good when in office. He has labored to 
further local improvement and general progress and has long been accounted 
one of the leaders of the republican party in Wisconsin. At the same time 
Beaver Dam has benefited by his efforts along business lines, for his business 
interests have usually been of a character that has contributed to public pros- 
perity as well as to individual success. 

Mr. McFetridge was born in Rochester, New York, on the 15th of April, 
1836, and acquired his education in the public schools of that city, supplemented 
by a year's study in the University of Rochester. He afterward read law in 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the office of Townsend & Shuart and was admitted to practice upon passing 
an examination before the supreme court in Rochester in 1857. 

In the fall of 1858 Mr. McFetridge arrived in Beaver Dam, where his 
brother, James A. McFetridge, was engaged in the manufacture of woolen 
goods in company with the late George H. Stewart. Edward C. McFetridge 
here entered upon the practice of law in connection with Hon. A. Scott Sloan, 
now deceased. This relation was maintained until 1864, when he withdrew 
from the profession and entered into business relations with his brother in 
the building of the Beaver Dam Woolen Mills. Subsequently they were joined 
by John T. Smith and others and the business was incorporated. For a number 
of years it was conducted successfully but in 1908 was shut down and the plant 
is now for sale. 

Throughout all the years of his residence in Beaver Dam, covering more 
than a half century, Mr. McFetridge has figured prominently in public life.' He 
has been called to many positions of honor and trust of a local nature and 
again in connection with affairs of state. In 1863 and again in 1864 he was 
elected superintendent of schools and did much to formulate the educational 
policy of the city at that early period. In 1870 he was elected mayor of Beaver 
Dam and in the same year was elected county treasurer and again in 1872. 
In 1871 he was chosen one of the county supervisors and in 1878 was elected 
to represent his district in the general assembly. During the ensuing legislative 
session he was appointed chairman of the committee on state affairs and later 
in the session was appointed a member on the joint special committee of the 
senate and house on the revision of the statutes. While in the legislature he 
reported in favor of and strongly advocated the amending of the state constitu- 
tion in favor of holding biennial sessions of the general assembly. The joint 
resolution for such amendment was passed by the legislature of 1878-9 and 
ratified by the vote of the people in November, 1881. In the latter year Mr. 
McFetridge was elected state treasurer of Wisconsin and was reelected in 1884, 
his incumbency continuing until January 1, 1887, or for a period of six years, 
his reelection being evidence of his excellent service during his first term and 
the confidence and trust reposed in him by the public. In 1889 he was a can- 
didate for the nomination for governor but the plurality vote went to the Hon. 
W. D. Hoard, who was elected. From the time that age conferred upon him 
the right of franchise to the present, Mr. McFetridge has been a stalwart advo- 
cate of republican principles. By education and choice he became a member 
of the party and his first presidential ballot was cast for Abraham Lincoln. 
In 1872 he was chosen a presidential elector and had the honor of casting Wis- 
consin's vote for Ulysses S. Grant for president. His last presidential vote 
supported William H. Taft and at the same time he voted in favor of women's 
suffrage but was on the losing side in both instances. 

On the 15th of October, 1861, Mr. McFetridge was married to Miss Fran- 
ces Amelia Blanchard, of Tecumseh, Michigan, who departed this life February 
28, 1898, leaving one son, John Charles. 

Aside from his business and political activity Mr. McFetridge has become 
widely known in other connections. He has been a director of the Williams 
Free Library since its organization and was a member of its original 
building committee in 1891. He is a life member of the State Historical Society 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



and is a thirty-second degree Mason, actively interested in the work of the 
craft. He belongs to all the local Masonic organizations, in which he has held 
many important positions and is untiring in his work for the welfare of the 
local bodies. His life has ever exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft, 
which has as its basic element mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. He 
stands as a high type of American manhood and chivalry and of American 
citizenship as well. He has never deviated from a course which he has believed 
to be right between himself and his fellowmen, nor has he failed to follow a 
course which his judgment has sanctioned as of greatest value in public affairs. 
While he is no longer an active factor in public life in the sense of seeking 
office, he keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the day and is thoroughly 
informed concerning questions of importance. 



Thirty-one years' identification with various business enterprises in Beaver 
Dam, where he has carried on his operations honorably and prosperously during 
the time, entitle Richard A. Biechl to be numbered among the representative 
men of the city. He has many friends in the community in which he resides, 
for he has maintained his residence here since he was twenty-two years of age. 
. His birth occurred in Trenton, October 19, 1859, and he is a son of Edward and 
Theresa (Vetter) Biechl, natives of Germany. They came to America at an 
early date and were married in Wisconsin, where the father purchased eighty 
acres of land upon which he lived for several years. He finally returned to 
Milwaukee, where he worked at his trade for about three years returning to his 
farm in 1890. He carried on general agricultural pursuits upon this property 
for some time, eventually retiring from active life and moving to Beaver Dam 
where his death occurred in 1910 in the seventy-eighth year of his age. His wife 
had passed away two weeks previously and both are buried in Oakwood ceme- 
tery. 

Richard A. Biechl was the second in a family of six children. He was educated 
in the public schools of Dodge county and at the age of twenty-two came to 
Beaver Dam where he was identified with a farm implement business as sales- 
man for three years. For thirteen years afterward he was active in the hard- 
ware business, selling out his interests at the end of that time to join with his 
brother in the conduct of a similar enterprise. ' Their partnership continued for 
eight years and the business was conducted ably and prosperously during that 
time. Since it has been abandoned, Mr. Biechl has been engaged in buying and 
selling real estate and has met with his usual success in this line of activity, 
founding his prosperity upon honorable and upright commercial standards and 
upon industry, intelligence and determination. 

In 1886 the subject of this review was united in marriage to Miss Lena Hof- 
ferbert, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Hofferbert, natives of Germany. 
They came to America in early life and settled in Pennsylvania, coming subse- 
quently to Wisconsin where they both died. Mrs. Biechl was the youngest of a 
family of four children and was born August 12, 1861. She died in Beaver Dam 
in 1910. Ten years later our subject was again wedded, his union being with 



RICHARD A. BIECHL. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



13 



Miss Florence Smith, of Endeavor, Wisconsin. He has two children, Alexander 
and Richard K., both of whom live at home. The two eldest children of this 
family died in infancy. In his political beliefs Mr. Biechl is independent, voting 
according to his personal convictions. He has served for two years as a member 
of the board of education and is interested in every phase of local development. 
He and his family are members of the German Lutheran church. He seeks his 
success in a business way and has attained prosperity along commercial lines. 
The success which he has attained is the result of qualities of honor and in- 
tegrity in his character which unite to make him a worthy citizen and a loyal 
and upright man. 



LOUIS C. PAUTSCH. 

Louis C. Pautsch, who for five years has been clerk of Dodge county, was 
born in Hubbard township on the 5th of April, 1868. He is a son of Carl and 
Fridericka (Zuelsdarf) Pautsch, natives of Pomerania, Germany, the father 
having been born on the 27th of June, 1831, and the mother on the 1st of 
October, 1836. They were married on the 26th of January, 1857, and on June 
14, of the same year, they set sail for America, coming directly to Dodge county. 
The father purchased a small tract of land in Hubbard township and turned 
his attention to agricultural pursuits, although in the old country he herded 
sheep, with the exception of the three years he served in the army. They had 
but limited means but they had been trained from childhood in habits of dili- 
gence and thrift and through their united efforts prospered. Mr. Pautsch 
assiduously applied himself to the development of his farm until 1873, when 
he sold it and removed to Chester township, where he engages in agricultural 
pursuits, making his home with one of his sons. In earlier life he took an 
active interest in the political affairs of the county and served for fifteen years 
as assessor in Chester township. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Pautsch num- 
bered twelve, our subject being the sixth in order of birth. The others are as 
follows: Amelia, the widow of William Witte, of Trenton township; Johanah, 
the wife of Friderich Witte, of Chester township ; William, who is a resident 
of Waupun; Marie, the widow of Herman Schlieferd of Manley, Nebraska; 
August, who is a resident of the same place; Wilhelmine, deceased; Eda, who 
is the wife of Herman Detlaff, and resides in the vicinity of Minot, North 
Dakota ; Herman, who lives on a farm in Chester township ; Martha, who mar- 
ried William Rehwinkel, and lives near Louisville, Nebraska; Edward, who re- 
sides on the old homestead with his father in Chester township; and Anton, who 
is also a farmer of Chester township. 

The boyhood and youth of Louis C. Pautsch were passed on his father's 
farm, his education being acquired in the district schools. After leaving home 
he worked out until he was twenty-nine years of age, thus acquiring the means 
to enable him to become a property owner. He subsequently purchased a 
tract of land in Chester township, and there engaged in general farming for 
ten years in connection with. the pursuits of his business, which were the buying 
and shipping of hay. At the expiration of that period he was elected to the 
office of county clerk, the duties of which have since engrossed his entire 



14 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



attention. At the primaries, in September, 1912, Mr. Pautsch was nominated 
for county clerk for the fourth term, which is an evidence of his popularity, 
as no one has ever before received a fourth nomination. He was reelected on 
November 5, 1912, and is now serving his seventh consecutive year as county 
clerk of Dodge county. He still holds the title to his farm, and in addition to this 
he owns a residence property in Juneau He is also extensively interested in 
the Juno Motor Truck Company, and is a stockholder in the State Bank of 
Waupun, the Farmers Elevator Company of the same place, and the Atwater 
Creamery Company. They are all thriving enterprises and annually yield grati- 
fying dividends. 

On the 14th of October, 1898, Mr. Pautsch was married to Miss Carolina 
Graf, who was born in Burnett township, this county, and is a daughter of 
John and Carolina (Nitschke) Graf. The father is a native of Germany and 
the mother of Williamstown township, this county. For many years he was 
actively engaged in farming, but he is now living retired in Hustisford. The 
mother passed away in 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Pautsch have had two sons: 
Martin, who was born January 1, 1901, and died in infancy; and Friderich, whose 
natal day was the 20th of January, 1906. 

The family attend the Lutheran church, in the faith of which the parents 
were reared. Carl Pautsch, the father of our subject, has always taken an active 
interest in the work of this denomination, and was one of the organizers of 
the church in Hubbard township and also in Burnett. The political indorse- 
ment of Mr. Pautsch is given to the democratic party and he held the office of 
treasurer in Chester township during the period of his residence there. He 
is a practical man of good judgment and systematic methods and has proven 
efficient and competent in the discharge of his official duties, as is evidenced 
by the length of his period of service. 



EDGAR BOEING. 

Edgar Boeing, president of the village of Hustisford, is also a prominent 
factor in financial circles as the chief executive officer of the Hustisford State 
Bank, which position he has occupied since the organization of the institu- 
tion in 1901. General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention in earlier 
years and brought him a gratifying measure of prosperity. He is well known 
as one of the native sons of Dodge county, his birth having occurred in Hustis- 
ford township on the 19th of August, 1854. His parents, Emil and Julia 
(Voss) Boeing, were born, reared and married in Germany. In 1849 they 
crossed the Atlantic to the United States and, making their way to this county, 
located on a farm three and a half miles south of the village of Hustisford, 
where Emil Boeing continued to reside until called to his final rest. His wife 
passed away at the home of her daughter in Black Creek, Wisconsin. They 
were the parents of five children, as follows: Edgar, of this review; Emma, 
who is the wife of Emil V. Grunigen and resides on a farm near Black Creek ; 
Robert, who is engaged in the jewelry business in Hustisford; Ernst, a con- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



15 



tractor and builder of Hedley, British Columbia ; and Hugo, who is associated 
with his brother Ernst in the contracting business at Hedley. 

Edgar Boeing obtained his early education in the district schools of his na- 
tive township and later continued his studies in the Watertown high school 
He likewise pursued a short course in the Spencerian Business College. When 
a youth of eighteen he undertook the management of the home farm, remain- 
ing under the parental roof until twenty-eight years of age or until the time^ 
of his marriage. He then rented the homestead property and subsequently 
purchased the same, being actively and successfully engaged in its operation 
until 1898, when he put aside the work of the fields and took up his abode in 
Hustisford. He lived retired for several years or until the organization of the 
Hustisford State Bank in 1901, of which he became president. In that ca- 
pacity he has served to the present time, his excellent business ability and keen 
discernment being potent factors in the continued growth and success of the 
institution. He likewise acts as the president of the Hustisford Canning Com- 
pany and owns a farm west of the village which he leases to that concern. His 
business interests have thus been varied and in their capable control he has 
won a well merited degree of success. 

On the 18th of October, 1882, Mr. Boeing was united in marriage to Miss 
Angeline Baker, who was born in Hustisford township on the Oth of August, 
1853, her parents being George and Deborah Baker, the former a native of New 
York and the latter of Canada. Unto our subject and his wife was born one 
child, who died in infancy. 

In politics Mr. Boeing is independent. His fellow townsmen, recognising 
his worth and ability, have called him to positions of public trust and re- 
sponsibility and at the present time he is serving as president of the village of 
Hustisford, while for one term he has acted as chairman of the township board. 
Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, belonging to the blue lodge 
at Neosho, the chapter at Horicon and the commandery at Watertown. He 
has remained a resident of Dodge county from his birth to the present time 
and enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance within its borders. His 
wife, too, has always lived in this county and the circle of her friends is a 
wide one. 



THEODORE B. ROWELL. 

Theodore B. Rowell is the president of the J. S. Rowell Manufacturing 
Company and as such occupies a conspicuous position in business circles of 
Beaver Dam, being at the head of the largest and most important productive 
industry in the city. It is true that he entered upon a business already es- 
tablished, but he has contributed much to its success, not only through the di- 
rection of its financial affairs but also through his inventive genius, whereby 
he has given to the world a number of new and valuable devices in the shape of 
improvements in farm machinery. 

Mr. Rowell was born in Goshen, Indiana, in 1845, and was brought to Beaver 
Dam by his father, John S. Rowell, the founder and promoter of the business 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



which is now being conducted under the name of the J. S. Rowell Manufac- 
turing Company. The father was born in the town of Spring Valley, Living- 
ston county, New York, April I, 1825, and devoted the greater part of his life 
to the invention and manufacture of farm machinery, in which he made such 
progress that his name should be enrolled on the page's of fame by the side of 
that of Cyrus H. McCormick and Jerome L Case. He was the patentee of the 
(irst slip tooth ever used on a seeder and was the original patentee of the force 
feed that is used on nearly all the seeders and drills made in this country. 
At the present time the company holds forty patents on various' agricultural 
implements. The business, however, was established on a small scale. Mr. 
Rowell was a plow maker by trade but he was ambitious and energetic and 
moreover he possessed inventive genius. After being for a time in Beaver Dam 
he went to Milwaukee where he purchased a small amount of steel and iron, 
which he hauled by team to this city. Here he established an iron foundry, 
employing a few men including his nephew, Gifford Rowell. The plant was 
originally devoted exclusively to the manufacture of plows which were sold to 
the local trade. In 1858 he erected a new building to supplement the old build- 
ing which he had purchased for four hundred dollars. In i860 he built a small 
home for his family who had hitherto lived over the factory. About i860 he 
brought forth what was probably the first successful broad case seeder ever 
put upon the market and patented this. Its value soon met recognition and 
it was sold largely over the middlewest. Later he began the manufacture of 
•threshing machines called the Tiger and again his output found ready sale. He 
afterward added to this hay racks, corn plows and general farm machinery. 
The factory was greatly enlarged and its facilities increased to meet the grow- 
ing demands of the trade and John S. Rowell lived to profit by the value of his 
inventions and his extensive manufacturing interests. He had reached the age 
of about eighty-three years when in 1908 he was called to his final rest. In 
his family were six children, five of whom are still living: Theodore B. ; Samuel, 
who is the vice president of the Rowell Manufacturing Company; Elizabeth, 
who became the wife of Lyman Barber, but both are now deceased; Mrs. Lil- 
lian Black, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin ; and BcHc, who is the wife of R. W. 
Hopkins, of Milwaukee. 

The eldest son, Theodore B. Rowell, was a young lad at the time of the 
removal to Beaver Dam, where he was reared and educated. He entered busi- 
ness circles in connection with his father's foundry, familiarizing himself with 
all of the departments of the business and developing his own inventive genius. 
Mr. Rowell has secured many patents upon his inventions, which include the 
spring device for gauging the depth of cultivator teeth, an angle sieve for fan- 
ning mills and a machine for its manufacture, a grain drill feed for grain drills 
and several others. He is continuously studying in order to perfect the ma- 
chinery, and the Tiger machines of various kinds which are sent out by the 
Rowell Manufacturing Company are now widely known. In fact the Tiger 
drills and seeders arc considered second to none in the United States, creating 
a demand for them not only over all the western wheat belt but also in Canada. 
South America and Africa. The business has steadily increased and the plant 
is now a most extensive enterprise, covering many acres. No other undertaking 
has made the name of Heaver Dam so well known throughout the country than 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1? 



the output of the J. S. Rowell Manufacturing Company. Theodore B. Rowell 
was the vice president until his father's death, when he succeeded to the presi- 
dency. 

In 1869 occurred the marriage of Theodore Rowell and Miss Carrie Robin- 
son. After her death he married Martha Clemm, of this city, and since her de-* 
mise he has married Miss Eunice Huth, who was born in Port Washington, 
Wisconsin. He has seven children, five of whom were born of the first mar- 
riage, namely: Frank, who is associated with his father in business; Joseph, 
a resident of Washington; Elizabeth, the wife of a Mr. Leslie, of Chicago; 
Jerry, who resides in Beaver Dam; and Robert, also of Beaven Dam. The son 
of the second marriage is Douglas, of Washington; and the daughter of the 
present marriage is Dorothy, who is at home and is very proficient in music. 

Mr. Rowell votes the republican ticket where national matters and issues 
are involved but casts an independent local ballot. He served as alderman for 
a short time and his attitude upon vital questions is always that of a progress- 
ive, public-spirited man, yet his important business interests leave him no time 
for cooperation in public affairs. He possesses marked executive ability with 
keep power of discriminating between the essential and the non-essential, and 
sound business judgment added to his inventive powers has made him one of 
the most prominent and forceful representatives of business circles in Beaver 
Dam. 



HUBERT ROBERT MILLER. 

Hubert Robert Miller, one of the representative citizens and successful 
farmers, stock-raisers and dairymen of Emmet township, is owner of a well 
improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 10. He is num- 
bered among the worthy native sons of Dodge county and has always resided 
on the farm which is now his home, his natal day being February 12, 1868. 
His father, John Miller, was born, reared and married in Austria and in that 
country became the father of seven children. In 1866 he crossed the Atlantic 
to the United States, coming direct to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and purchas- 
ing the place in Emmet township which is now in possession of his son Hubert. 
With resolute purpose and indomitable industry he began the improvement of 
the property and gradually developed an excellent farm, erecting thereon an 
attractive and substantial brick residence and also putting up fences. 

Hubert R. Miller was reared under the parental roof and obtained his early 
education in the common schools, while later he attended high school at Water- 
town. Subsequently he took charge of the home farm and has operated the 
same continuously and successfully since. As time has passed he has made a 
number of improvements, adding to and enlarging the barn and also erecting 
substantial outbuildings. In connection with the cultivation of cereals he has 
for a number of years been engaged in the dairy business, this branch of his 
business yielding him a gratifying annual income. He raises high-grade Hol- 
stein cattle, has some fine milch stock and is a stockholder in the cheese fac- 
tory and in the Watertown Telephone Company. A man of good business abil- 
ity and sound judgment, he has won prosperity in his undertakings as an agri- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



culturist and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the progressive and es- 
teemed citizens of his community. 

On the 26th of May, 1897, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Amelia 
Roffeis, who was born and reared in this county, her father being John P. 
Roffeis, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work. Our subject 
and his wife have six children, four sons and two daughters, namely: Ray- 
mond G, Philumania, John, William, Frank and Agatha. 

Mr. Miller is a democrat and takes an active interest in local politics and 
in matters relating to the public welfare. He was elected to the office of 
assessor and by reelection was continued in that position until he had served 
for five consecutive years as assessor of Emmet township, ever discharging his 
duties in a highly commendable and satisfactory manner. He has also been 
sent as a delegate to both county and state conventions and both in public and 
in private life has manifested the sterling traits of character which everywhere 
command respect and regard. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have always lived in this 
county and are widely and favorably known here. 



There is no more enviable title in the country today than that of veteran of 
the Civil war. We honor the few surviving heroes of that conflict for their 
valor, patience and enduring loyalty and respect them for their unselfish service. 
No one is more entitled to recognition in this respect than Charles H. Eggleston, 
who for three years fought in his country's cause and closed his service only at 
the end of the hostilities. He does not, however, rest his only claim to distinction 
upon his military record. His life since his discharge has been spent in busi- 
ness in Fox Lake up to the time of his retirement and has been a worthy sequel 
to his career as a soldier. Mr. Eggleston is a native of England and was born 
in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, on the 4th of August, 1835, a son of Thomas 
G. and Deborah (Austin) Eggleston, who left their native country about 1837 
and came to America. They settled in Utica, New York, where they remained 
for one year before coming to Wisconsin. They resided in Milwaukee for a 
short time, the father working as a contracting mason. He built the first brick 
house in Milwaukee about the year 1838 and was also responsible for the con- 
struction of the first lighthouse in the state, erected at what is now Kenosha. 
Eventually he moved to Pewaukee and later to Waukesha, working at his trade 
in both cities. In Waukesha he rebuilt the courthouse and did much construc- 
tion work for the railroads. His residence in Fox Lake dated from 1855, in 
which year he established himself and his family in that city, being influenced 
in his removal, by securing a contract to erect the Wisconsin Female College. 
This structure was later destroyed by fire and never rebuilt and its ruins arc- 
standing at the present time. The father of our subject made his home in Fox 
Lake until his death, which occurred in 1892, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. 
His wife survived him two years, passing away when she was eighty-seven years 
old. Both are buried in the Waushara cemetery. 

Charles H. Eggleston is the eldest in a family of six children. He began 
his education in the Wisconsin public schools and completed it in Carl College 



CHARLES H. EGGLESTON. 





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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



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at Waukesha. When he laid aside his books he clerked in the postoffice for about 
a year and later entered the employ of a local grain dealer. In 1862 he enlisted 
in Company E, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until 
the close of the war. He was wounded at the battle of Fort Gibson on May 
1, 1863, having been shot through the right lung. He was taken to the Union 
hospital at Memphis and was disabled until after the surrender at Vicksburg. 
General Grant gave a furlough to all wounded soldiers and Mr. Eggleston took 
advantage of this and returned home. Upon the expiration of his furlough he 
reported at the hospital at Madison and was discharged in the latter part of 
December, 1863. Returning home, he was assigned to duty in the recruiting 
service in this state and did not return to his regiment until March, 1864, when 
he joined General Banks on his Red River expedition. After the battle of 
Sabine Cross Roads on April 28, 1864, they went to the Mississippi river and 
Mr. Eggleston's regiment saw service in Mississippi, Missouri and Louisiana 
and was in Alabama at the time of Lee's surrender. During his period of 
military activity the subject of this review took part in many battles and skirmishes 
and was promoted from the position of private to that of corporal and then to 
sergeant, was made orderly sergeant and then second lieutenant and was mus- 
tered out at Shreveport, Louisiana, on the 22d of June, 1865, as first lieutenant 
of his regiment and received his discharge at Madison, Wisconsin, on the 7th 
of July in the same year. He immediately returned to Fox Lake, where in 
1866 he established himself in the retail lumber business, continuing his identi- 
fication with this line of activity and being constantly successful until January 
t, 1912, when he sold his interests and retired from active life. 

In 1866 Mr. Eggleston was united in marriage to Miss Susan B. Blaisdell, a 
daughter of Oliver Blaisdell, of Bennington, New York. She was the eldest 
of three children and was born on July 22, 1834. She passed away on June 25, 
191 1, and is buried in Waushara cemetery at Fox Lake. 

Mr. Eggleston gives his political allegiance to the republican party and his 
loyalty and disinterestedness have been rewarded by his election to various village 
offices. There is hardly a line of legitimate activity in this section of the state 
in which his name is not well known. He is a stockholder in the State Bank 
of Fcx Lake and holds the office of president in that organization. He is also 
president of the Fox Lake Canning Company and holds the same office on the 
board of trustees of Wayland University. As trustee of Downer College he 
has added to his laurels gained in Wayland University and has ably promoted 
the cause of education. He is a stockholder in the Marine National Bank of 
Milwaukee and in the Malleable Iron Works of Beaver Dam. He is also inter- 
ested in the Beaver Dam Gas & Light Company and in the Milwaukee Western 
Electric Railroad Company, gaining by his activities in these various enterprises 
recognition as a shrewd and able business man of remarkable discrimination. 
He is a member of the Baptist church and has served on the board of trustees 
for almost thirtyrfive years. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and has been a member of this organization for forty years and 
secretary of his lodge for thirty-five years. He has occupied all the chairs and 
is a member of the Encampment. He is actively interested in the affairs of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, being prominent and well known among his 

comrades. He has been a business man practically all his active liie and his 
vol. n-i 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



character has been influenced by the alertness of attention and the force of 
concentration which successful business activity requires. He is an unassuming, 
straightforward and intelligent man who has sought tangible prosperity by the 
usual methods but who is distinguished by the fact that his energies have always 
been honorably directed and his high position worthily achieved. 



Christian W. Docter, photographer at Mayville, was born in Kenosha, Wis- 
consin, September 30, 1868. His father, John Docter, a native of the Rhine 
country of Germany, was brought to America in 1843 when but two years of 
age. After the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted on the 28th day of August, 
1861, and for three years served at the front with a Wisconsin regiment. When 
wounded he returned home but when he regained his health he reenlisted on 
the 1st of April, 1865, as a member of Company G, Eighth Wisconsin Infantry, 
with which he remained until mustered out on the 31st of March, 1866. He 
was a carpenter by trade and while working on a church steeple in Kenosha 
fell and his death resulted. This was in the year 1877. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Elizabeth Stantz, is still living. 

Christian W. Docter acquired his education in the district and parochial 
schools. He was early employed by a spring bed manufacturer at Kenosha and 
afterward took up the study of photography in the photograph gallery of Ben 
LaMarsche, in Kenosha. There he remained until 1889, when he started out 
in business on his own account and has since been located at Mayville. He 
has a well equipped studio and does excellent work so that he is accorded a 
liberal patronage. 

On the 20th of May, 1890, Mr. Docter was married to Miss Anna R. Moeller, 
a daughter of Joseph Moeller, of Kenosha, who was a blacksmith by trade but 
is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Docter have become the parents of five chil- 
dren: John C, living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Adelaide; Rudolph; Helen; 
and Viola. Mr. Docter has been a lifelong resident of this state and in his life 
manifests the sterling qualities of the citizen of the middle west, being alert, 
enterprising and progressive. He has made good use of his time and talents 
and has met with a measure of success which is the merited regard of his 
persistent labor and his skill. 



Probably no one citizen of Dodge county has contributed more largely 
toward the general progress and development of the community along educa- 
tional lines than John Kelley, the editor of the Juneau Telephone, who is now 
serving his sixth term as county superintendent of schools. In the latter ca- 
pacity he has been a strong factor in influencing and molding the characters 



CHRISTIAN W. DOCTER. 



JOHN KELLEY. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



-2,3 



of the youth, while through the medium of the columns of his paper he has 
striven to implant in both old and young not only better standards of citizen- 
ship, but a due recognition of the important part played in life by these ele- 
ments without the material world. 

He is of Irish extraction but was born in Oneida county, New York, his 
natal day being the 22d of September, 1852, and his parents Martin and Mary 
(Keeley) Kelley. They were born, reared and married in County Galway, 
Ireland, which was also the birthplace of their six eldest children. The father 
was born on the nth of May, 1804, and the mother some ten years later. Farm- 
ing largely engaged his attention and he was also an overseer of public works, 
but neither proved very lucrative, and feeling that he should like to provide his 
children with better advantages than he could possibly procure for them in 
the old country, he decided to come to America. He took passage for the United 
States in 1847, locating in Oneida county, New York, where he was joined two 
years later by his wife and children. They made that their home until 1853, 
when they continued their journey westward to Wisconsin, settling on a farm 
in Shields township, this county. There, both parents passed the remainder of 
their lives, the father's death occurring in November, 1891, and that of the 
mother in July, 1896. Mr. Kelley enjoyed the full rights of citizenship, and at 
one time served as supervisor of his township, among the citizens of which he 
was highly esteemed and numbered many friends. There were seven daugh- 
ters and two sons in the Kelley family, all of whom are now deceased with the 
exception of three: Ellen, the wife of Patrick King, of Chicago; John, our 
subject ; and Anna, who is residing at Richwood, near the old homestead, where 
the family still owns some valuable property. 

John Kelley accompanied his parents on their removal to Dodge county and 
has ever since made his home in this state. He was a child of only one year 
when they located in Shields township, where he was reared to manhood 
and received his early education. When he was eighteen he left school and 
began his career as an educator. For three years thereafter he taught in his 
home township, thus acquiring the money to enable him to continue his 
studies. At the end of that time he enrolled in the normal school at Platt- 
ville, being graduated from this institution in June, 1877. This event conferred 
upon him the additional distinction of being the first citizen of Dodge county 
to have received a normal school diploma. Returning home he taught for two 
years thereafter in Richwood, going from there to Fox Lake, where he held 
the position of high-school principal for three years, subsequently serving in 
the same capacity for a like- period at Horicon. His next removal was to 
Juneau, where he purchased the paper he has ever since been editing. For a 
time he was not actively connected with educational affairs, giving his atten- 
tion almost entirely to the publication of his paper. From 1892 to 1806, he was 
enrolling clerk in the house of representatives at Washington, D. C, and in 
1900 was elected county superintendent of schools. As he gave efficient and 
capable service in this connection he was reelected at the expiration of his term 
and has ever since been the incumbent of the office. Mr. Kelley has always 
been deeply interested in the public schools, and even when not actively con- 
nected with educational work kept in touch with the theories and ideas of our 
leading authorities on school matters. He fully recognizes and appreciates the 



24 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



merits and deficiencies of the present educational system, and being a practical 
man of progressive ideas is striving to meet the needs and requirements of the 
period. That he is succeeding is evidenced by the favor in which he is held 
throughout the county as well as by the results he is achieving. As the common 
schools have been established for the benefit of all the youth of the commuhity, 
it has been his effort to try to adapt them to meet the needs of the majority 
rather than the few, and to this end he is directing his endeavors with good 
results. Mr. Kelley has won much more than local renown as an educator and 
in 1909 served as president of the Wisconsin State Teachers Association, and 
for a time he was also official visitor to the normal schools of the state. His 
attention is now almost entirely devoted to his official duties, although he is 
still managing and editing his paper, the columns of which are given to the 
support of every worthy and commendable movement. 

Mr. Kelley has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Jennie 
F. McGuire, of Chicago, the event being celebrated on the 24th of August, 
1880. She was. born on August 15, 1852, and was a daughter of Patrick Mc- 
Guire, a carpenter and contractor. Two children were born of this marriage: 
Mary Frances, whose birth occurred on May 31, 1881, now the wife of D. E. 
McLane, principal of the West Bend high school; and John Edward, whose 
natal day was the 2d of July, 1882, a practicing physician of Chicago. The 
mother passed away on the 1 ith of August, 1907. On the 30th of June, 1910, 
Mr. Kelley was married to his present wife, whose maiden name was Clara 
A. Purcell. She was born in Waupun, this state, on the 24th of July, 1876, 
and is a daughter of Thomas and Charlotta (Bushee) Purcell. The father is 
now engaged in mining in Idaho, where he has resided for several years, but 
the mother has long been deceased, having passed away during the infancy of 
her daughter. To Mr. and Mrs. Kelley there has been born one child, Kath- 
leen Veronica, whose birth occurred on the 16th of April, 1912. 

The parents are communicants of the Roman Catholic church, and fra- 
ternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of For- 
esters. Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and the Modern Woodmen of America. 
In his political views he is stanchly loyal to the principles of the democratic 
party, and takes an active interest in all local affairs. Mr. Kelley wields a 
strong influence throughout the county through the medium of the columns of 
his paper, which are as readily used to denounce wrong as to commend good. 
He is broad-minded and charitable in his judgment and endeavors to place 
before his readers an honest and just report of all matters of public interest. 



The late Philander White, who passed away at Rolling Prairie on the 7th 
of March, 1900, was one of the early settlers of Burnett township. Dodge 
county. He was a native of the state of New York, his birth having occurred 
in Steuben county on April 7, 1823. and a son of Peter and Rebecca White, who 
were likewise natives of the Empire state, where they passed their entire lives. 



PHILANDER WHITE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 25 



Philander White was reared and educated in the county of his nativity, sub- 
sequently turning his attention to agricultural pursuits. He remained a resident 
of New York state until 1863, when he came to Wisconsin, locating in Dodge 
county. Soon thereafter he purchased land in Burnett township, which he 
cultivated for three years. At the expiration of that period he sold his holdings 
there, investing the proceeds in a farm in Oak Grove township. After residing 
on this place for a short time he removed to Beaver Dam, where he made his 
home for four years, but still engaged in the operation of his farm in Trenton 
township. His next removal was to Columbia county, this state, where he con- 
tinued in agricultural pursuits for nineteen years, meeting with a good measure 
of success. Having attained the venerable age of seventy-five years, in 1898 
he left his farm and went to Rolling Prairie, this county, spending his remaining 
days in well earned ease and rest. 

Mr. White was twice married. To him and his first wife there were born 
six children: George, who is a resident of Beaver Dam; Merick, who is living 
in Rockford, Illinois ; LeRoy, who is in the west ; Lawrence and Darius, who are 
deceased ; and Lloyd, who resides in Wyocena, this state. On the 27th of 
March, 1864, Mr. White was married to Miss Eliza M. Phillips, who was born 
and reared in this county, her natal day being the 16th of February, 1847. She 
is a daughter of Ralph and Mary (Hand) Phillips, well known pioneers of Oak 
Grove township. The father was born in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on the 7th 
of May, 1816, while the mother's birth occurred in the state of New York on 
February I, 1820. They were married in Orange county, New York, where they 
resided until 1845, when they came to Wisconsin, casting their lot with the 
pioneers of Oak Grove township. There they passed the remainder of their 
lives, the father's death occurring on April 8, 1897, and that of the mother on 
the 13th of April, 1910. To them were born seven children, Mrs. White being 
the fourth in order of birth. Mrs. White continued to reside in Rolling Prairie 
after the death of her husband until 1906, when she disposed of her property 
there and removed to Horicon, where she now makes her home. 

The political support of Mr. White was accorded to the democratic party, 
and while residing in Beaver Dam he served as alderman from the Fourth ward. 
He was a man of unusual energy and perseverance, but of a somewhat retiring 
nature and never figured prominently in local politics. He was not remiss in 
matters of citizenship, however, but took an active interest in the welfare of 
the community and the development of its public utilities. 



MICHAEL A. JACOBS. 

Michael A. Jacobs is well known as a lumber merchant of Beaver Dam, yet 
many and varied interests aside from the lumber trade occupy his time and 
attention and profit by his cooperation. In a word he is one of the prominent 
and representative business men of Dodge county, occupying a central place on 
the stage of activity, his labors constituting an element in public prosperity as 
well as individual success. He was born in this county, March 26, i860, a son 
of Michael and Catherine (Hartzhein) Jacobs, both of whom were natives of 



20 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



lthenish Prussia, Germany, but who did not become acquainted until after their 
emigration to the new world, their marriage being celebrated in Dodge county 
in 1856. It was in 1848 that the father arrived in Wisconsin, landing at Green 
Bay, whence he walked to Beaver Dam. He was afterward a resident of Mus- 
kegon, Michigan, for eight years, and then went to Lomira, Dodge county, 
where he purchased a farm upon which he resided until 1867. In that year he 
established his home near Beaver Dam, purchasing a farm upon which he resided 
until 1889. He afterward lived retired in that city until 1907, when he was 
called to his final rest at the age of eighty-four years. He had long survived 
his wife, who passed away in 1873. She was a daughter of Henry and Gertrude 
Hartzhein, who came to Dodge county in 1847, traveling with ox teams from 
Milwaukee. They, too, were natives of Germany and became pioneer residents 
of Dodge county, purchasing land in Theresa township, where Mr. Hartzhein 
followed farming until his death in 1864. His wife lived until 1893 and wa s 
ninety-three years of age at the time of her demise. In the family of Michael 
and Catherine (Hartzhein) Jacobs were eight children, of whom three died in 
infancy, the others being: Mrs. Mary Ott, of St. Cloud, Wisconsin; Michael A.; 
Mrs. Henry Fuesing, of Beaver Dam; Mrs. H. R. Heimler, also of Beaver Dam, 
and John C, of Chicago. 

Michael A. Jacobs was instructed in both English and German by his mother 
and received the further educational opportunity of attending parochial and 
public school, while for one term he was an attendant in Mount Calvary Col- 
lege. He was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the best methods 
of tilling the soil, and continued on the farm until twenty-seven years of age. 
In 1887, in connection with Peter Roedl and John W. Hall he purchased the 
lumber yard of D. Dickinson & Company and has since been active in the busi- 
ness. Mr. Hall, however, withdrew in 1893. The firm handles a general line 
of lumber, building materials and fuel, and theirs is one of the extensive enter- 
prises of this character in the city/ their plant covering one and three-quarter 
acres while employment is furnished to ten or twelve men. The business has 
grown continuously year by year and the success of the enterprise is attributable 
in no small measure to the keen business discernment and capable direction of 
Mr. Jacobs. His ability has been widely recognized in other connections and 
his cooperation has been sought in promoting many commercial, industrial and 
financial concerns. He organized the German National Bank and was its cashier 
from 1 89 1 until 1894 inclusive, save for eleven months, when he was away from 
Beaver Dam in 1893. He is still one of its directors and is a director of the 
Milwaukee Western Electric Railroad Company, of the Malleable Iron Range 
Company and the Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Company. He is likewise a 
director of the Woolen Manufacturing Company and is secretary, treasurer 
and one of the directors of the Sun Coal Company, owning and operating mines 
at Caryville, Tennessee. 

His extensive and important business interests do not preclude his coopera- 
tion with interests of a public character. He is a director of the Williams Free 
Library and has been somewhat prominent in public office to which he has been 
elected as a candidate of the democratic party. He served as township clerk 
while on the farm in 1884, 1885 and 1886, and was county clerk from 1888 until 
1802. inclusive. He was also chief clerk of the general land office in 1893 and 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



27 



at the same time was World's Fair commissioner for the interior department. 
He had charge of the opening of the Cherokee district in Oklahoma, September 
16, 1893, and in 1898 he was elected to the state senate. In 1906 he was chosen 
mayor of Beaver Dam for a two years' term and gave to the city a prompt 
and businesslike administration, during which he put in the first brick pavement 
in the city. His cooperation could always be counted upon to further progressive 
public movements and his work has been followed by practical and beneficial 
results. 

On the 26th of November, 1884, Mr. Jacobs was married to Miss Theresa 
M. Flasch, of Fond du Lac county, a daughter of John M. and Elizabeth (Gales) 
Flasch, both of whom were natives of Germany and came to the United States 
in 1847. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs were born ten children, six of whom are 
yet living, while two died in infancy and one at the age qf fifteen years. Those 
who survive are Peter R., Albert F., Edward H., Agnes M., Michael J., and 
John B. Mr. Jacobs and his family are members of St. Peter's Catholic church 
and he is a prominent representative of the Catholic Knights, being state treas- 
urer of the organization. He also belongs to St. Peter's Benevolent Society and 
is much interested in charitable work. In fact he has always been willing to 
use his means to a reasonable extent for the benefit of others, feeling a deep 
and sincere interest in the welfare of his fellow townsmen. His record as a 
public official and as a merchant are alike commendable and in every relation of 
life he has commanded the respect and received the esteem of those with whom 
he has come in contact. 



CARL HILGENDORF. 

Carl Hilgendorf, who is the present incumbent of the office of county treas- 
urer, was for many years actively and successfully engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits in Oak Grove township, where he owns a valuable farm. He is one of the 
estimable citizens Germany has furnished Dodge county, his birth having oc- 
curred in the province of Pommern, on the 2d of February, 1854. His par- 
ents, William and Frederica (Richardt) Hilgendorf, were born, reared and 
married in the same province, the father's natal day being the 28th of October, 
1828, and the mother's January 3, 1827. The father, who was a carpenter, 
emigrated to the United States with his family in 1868, first locating in Theresa 
township, this county, where he followed his trade for four years. At the ex- 
piration of that period he bought a tract of land in Oak Grove township, giving 
his undivided attention to its further improvement and cultivation during the 
remainder of his active life. He passed away on his farm on the 28th of 
November, 1892, and the mother on the 13th of February, 1895. They were the 
parents of seven children, of whom our subject is the eldest. In order of birth 
the others are as follows: August, who is a contractor in Juneau; William, de- 
ceased; Herman, who follows the mason's trade and also conducts a general 
mercantile store in the village of Oak Grove ; John, a carpenter contractor re- 
siding in California; Ulrike, the wife of Herman Zimmerman, a retired farmer; 
and Ernest, a carpenter of Mcnomonee, Wisconsin. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



The education of Carl Hilgendorf was acquired in the common schools of 
his native land, which he attended until he accompanied his parents to America 
at the age of fourteen years. He subsequently learned the carpenter's trade 
from his father, whom he also assisted with the cultivation of the home farm, 
remaining with his parents until he was married. For eight years thereafter 
he followed his trade, but at the expiration of that time he bought the old 
homestead from his father and once more turned his attention to agricultural 
pursuits. His energies were entirely devoted to diversified farming and stock- 
raising from that period until the autumn of 1910, when he was elected to his 
present office. Prior to entering upon his official duties he removed to Juneau, 
where he owns a very attractive, modern residence and here he expects to pass 
the remainder of his life. Mr. Hilgendorf has met with success in his under- 
takings and holds the title to two hundred and five acres of farm land in this 
county. He is also financially interested in the Essmann Cheese Company, of 
which he has been secretary for twenty-five years, and is a stockholder and the 
present treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Juneau. 

On the 19th of December, 1878, Mr. Hilgendorf was married to Miss 
Louisa Schrap, who was born in Lomira township, this county, on the 16th of 
April, 1856. She is a daughter of Carl and Henrietta (Aloerike) Schrap, na- 
tives of Germany, and well known pioneer farming people of Oak Grove 
township, where they resided until 1893. In the latter year they came to 
Juneau and here the father is now living retired at the age of seventy-nine 
years, the mother being two years his junior. Six children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Hilgendorf: Ida, the wife of Herman Ihde, of Juneau; Eddie, 
who married Frances Krauth and resides in Hubbard township; Emil, who 
married Martha Rupnow and is residing on one of his father's farms in Oak 
Grove township; and Martha, Adcla and Alma, all of whom are residing at home. 

The family belong to the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Hilgendorf was 
treasurer for eleven years. Politically he indorses the democratic party. He is 
public-spirited in matters of citizenship and has always taken an interest in 
local politics, having served as treasurer of his township for one year and as 
chairman for seven. He is a man of practical ideas and clear judgment, whose 
energies were intelligently directed toward the achievement of a definite pur- 
pose, which he attained. In the discharge of his official duties he is manifesting 
the same qualities that characterized him in the development of his private in- 
terests, and is therefore fully equal to his responsibilities. 



With the passing away of John G. P.achhuber on the 27th of March, 191.2, 
the city of Juneau sustained the loss of one of her most estimable citizens 
Although a lawyer by profession, during the greater period of his residence 
here he had figured prominently in local political affairs. At the time of his 
demise, and for five years prior to that, he held the office of mayor, and in 
this as in other public capacities he made a record which not only proved him 



JOHN G. BACIIHL'BER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



29 



to be a trustworthy and reliable servant of the people but, what is of still 
greater importance, a man of honor and unquestionable integrity. 

He was one of Dodge county's native sons, his birth having occurred at 
Farmerville, Leroy township, on the 8th of March, 1868. He was of German 
extraction, however, his parents, Max and Theresa (Engle) Bachhuber, having 
been born in Bavaria. They were married in Milwaukee, but later removed 
to this county, where for some years the father engaged in farming. He sub- 
sequently conducted a hotel and general mercantile store at Farmerville, how- 
ever, being actively identified with the business interests of that community 
until his death on February 2, 1879. The mother, who was born on March 
30, 1837, is still living and now makes her home in Mayville, this county. 

John G. Bachhuber was reared in the simple, unpretentious country home 
of that period, and early had instilled in his youthful mind the necessity of 
forming habits of thrift and industry, while the importance of honesty in the 
successful pursuit of a career was often dwelt upon. His education was begun 
in the common schools of Leroy township, following which he attended the 
Catholic parochial school at Farmerville and the high school of Mayville. He 
had long been attracted toward the profession of law and subsequently matricu- 
lated in the University of Wisconsin, where he pursued his professional studies, 
being awarded his degree with the class of 1888. Upon his admission to the 
bar, he returned to Mayville, this county, maintaining an office there for three 
years. At the expiration of that time he came to Juneau where he continued his 
practice and also identified himself with local political activities. He was also 
connected with various business enterprises, and served for thirteen years as 
secretary of the Wisconsin Hail and Cyclone Insurance Company, while he was 
a stockholder in the Juneau Investment Company and the Citizens Bank. 

He was a stanch democrat in politics and began his public career as city 
clerk of Mayville. Later he was made register of probate and in 1893 he was 
appointed to fill out the unexpired term of Judge Lamoreaux as county judge. 
For several years he represented his ward in the city council, and he also served 
as chief of the Dodge county fire marshals. In each and every instance he 
maintained the dignity of his office and adequately met its responsibilities, dis- 
charging his duties in a highly creditable manner. He was a man of practical 
ideas, sound principles and high standards, and so far as lay within his power 
gave the people good and efficient service. He was permanently located here 
and took a personal interest in forwarding the development of the community, 
and conscientiously strove to meet the requirements of his official position by 
supporting every movement the adoption of which he felt would prove bene- 
ficial to the majority. 

At Mayville on the 21st of September, 1891, Mr. Bachhuber was united 
in marriage to Miss Marie de Vantier, who was born in the vicinity of Berlin, 
Germany, on the 1st of November, 1869. She is a daugther of Frederick and 
Bertha (Gcnsmer) de Vantier, who were born, reared and married in the same 
section of Germany. There the father, who was a day laborer, died on March 
1. 1879, and the following year the mother emigrated to America with her 
children. She came direct to Dodge county, locating in Mayville, but now 
resides in Juneau. Upon the death of the father the responsibility of sup- 
porting and educating the family devolved entirely upon the mother, who worked 



80 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



for other people, doing whatever she could to earn an honest living for her- 
self and children. They were all given the best advantages she could provide 
them, and grew up to be a credit to her and the community. There were two 
sons and a daughter, Mrs. Bachhuber being the youngest of the family. The elder 
son, Charles, is now superintendent in the shops of the Great Northern Rail- 
way at St. Paul, Minnesota ; Fred, who is the second in order of birth, is a 
baker by trade and makes his home in Juneau with the mother. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Bachhuber there were born five children: Alice, Irene, Norma and Har- 
old, all of whom are at home; and John, the fourth in order of birth, who was 
born on August 28, 1903, and died four months later. 

In 1909, Mr. Bachhuber erected the residence now occupied by his widow 
and family, which is one of the most pretentious and modern houses in the 
town. Some years previous he built the house on the lot adjoining, being at 
the time of his death the owner of four residence properties in Juneau and a 
fine farm in Burnett township. He had made further provision for the pro- 
tection of those dependent upon him through the medium of his connection 
with the Modern Woodmen of America fraternity, thus leaving a competence 
that fully provides for the needs of his entire family. Mr. Bachhuber was 
highly esteemed and had many friends in Juneau, where he was known as a 
man who was always ready and willing to serve the community in any capacity 
in which he was needed. At the time of his death he held the highest position 
in the municipality and he was also a member of the fire department, which 
fact most clearly manifests that he never shirked any recognized duty. 



JOHN F. RIEGE. 

John F. Riege, manager of the elevator of the Milwaukee Elevator Company 
located at Horicon, was born in the province of Pomerania, Germany, on the 15th 
of August, 1873. His parents, Erdmann and Minnie (Feit) Riege, were born, 
reared and married, in Pomerania, where the father followed the vocation of 
shepherd. They were hard-working, thrifty people, and desiring to give their 
children the benefit of better opportunities than they' felt were afforded in the 
more congested sections of their native land resolved to come to America. It 
required much self-denial and careful management to save the necessary passage 
money from the father's meager earnings, but at last it was achieved and in the 
spring of 1875 they sailed for the United States. They came direct to Horicon, 
where the father worked as a laborer on the railroad and also for the farmers 
in this vicinity. Subsequently he was able to begin farming for himself as a 
renter, his efforts in this direction proving so lucrative that he was later able 
to buy land in Burnett township. Diligently he applied himself to the further 
improvement and development of his farm until 1908, when he sold it to his son, 
John and removed to a smaller place located just outside the corporate limits of 
Horicon in Oak Grove township. Here he passed away on the 2d of May, 1910. 
He had long survived the mother, whose death occurred on March 28, 1900. To 
this worthy couple were born nine children, our subject being the eighth in 
order of birth. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



31 



John F. Riege was not yet two years of age when his parents located in 
Dodge county, where he was reared to manhood and has passed the greater part 
of his life. In the acquirement of an education he attended the district schools 
of Burnett township during the winter months and in summer assisted with the 
work of the farm. At the age of sixteen years* he left the parental roof and 
started out to make his own way in the world. Being unfamiliar with any 
occupation save that of farming he sought employment with the agriculturists 
in this vicinity, continuing to follow this line of work for five years. In 1894 
he came to Horicon and entered the employ of Charles Kuehn, manager of the 
elevator. He continued in his employ in the capacity of assistant for six years, 
and as he applied himself intelligently to the discharge of his duties acquired 
sufficient knowledge of the business to later secure his present position. Upon 
leaving the service of Mr. Kuehn he returned to the home farm, and for three 
years thereafter confined his attention to the tilling of the fields and care of the 
crops. At the end of that period he was offered the position of manager of the 
elevator at Horicon by the Milwaukee Elevator Company, and has ever since 
had charge of their business at this point. That he has proven efficient is sub- 
stantially evidenced by the length of his connection with the company, and the 
amount of business he annually handles. In the development of his personal 
interests, Mr. Riege manifests the same sound judgment and general capability 
which characterize his management of the affairs of others. As a result he has 
acquired a good residence property in Horicon and a small farm in Oak Grove 
township, the one on which his father was living at the time of his death, and he 
also holds title to the old family homestead in Burnett township. 

On the 21 st of November, 1900, Mr. Riege was married to Miss Anna Thome, 
who was born in Theresa township on the 16th of May, 1870. She is a daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Thome, natives of Germany, who emigrated to the 
United States in early life, subsequently locating in Theresa township. There 
the father acquired land and engaged in farming until his death which occurred 
on the 19th of July, 1909. 

Mr. and Mrs. Riege are members of the German Lutheran church, and 
jjolitically he is a democrat. An agreeable man of accommodating man- 
ner, he has many friends in Horicon and the surrounding country, where he is 
widely known and has established a reputation for straightforwardness and 
absolute integrity. 



EDWARD BEICHI-. 

Edward Beichl is the president of the Beaver Dam Manufacturing Com- 
pany, owning and controlling one Of the most extensive and important pro- 
ductive industries of the city. His business record is such as any man might 
l>c proud to possess, for he started out in life for himself at the age of four- 
teen years and has since been dependent upon his own resources. He has 
never deviated from a course which his judgment has sanctioned as right, 
has carefully met every obligation and filled every engagement and enjoys in 
unusual measure the regard and good will of colleagues and contemporaries. 



32 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Wisconsin claims him as a native son, for his birth occurred in Milwaukee, 
January 17, 1864, his parents being Edward and Theresa Beichl. They had 
a family of five children, the others being Charles, Richard, Emma and Otto, 
all of Beaver Dam. The father was the first man to number the houses of 
Milwaukee. He was also a portrait painter and devoted a portion of his life 
to agricultural pursuits. 

His son and namesake pursued his education in the public schools of Tren- 
ton, Wisconsin, but put aside his text-books at the age of fourteen years and 
became connected with a dry-goods business. Possessing laudable ambition 
and determined purpose, he gradually worked his way upward and for twenty 
years he was successfully engaged in the real-estate business in Beaver Dam 
and Milwaukee. He is still interested in real-estate holdings and owns some 
valuable property, from which he derives a substantial income. Of recent 
years, however, he has concentrated his efforts more exclusively upon manu- 
facturing interests. In 1901 he and his brother joined Charles Calkhirst and 
N. R. Nelson in forming a partnership for the manufacture of seeders and 
cultivators. This business was incorporated in 1903 with a capital stock of 
twenty-five thousand dollars. From the outset the undertaking prospered, ow- 
ing to the careful management of its promoters, and its growth is indicated 
in the fact that on the 13th of July, 1906, the capital stock was increased to 
fifty thousand dollars; on the 13th of June, 1908, to one hundred thousand 
dollars; and on the 24th of June, 191 1, to two hundred thousand dollars, which 
is the present capitalization. In 1903 the company erected a building one 
hundred and ten by forty feet and in 1904 built a two-story brick building 
forty by sixty feet. Still this did not give them adequate space, and in 1906 
was added a one-story building thirty-four by eighty feet. The constant growth 
of their trade still demanded larger quarters and in 1910 they erected a brick 
building sixty by one hundred and sixty-eight feet and a warehouse sixty 
by one hundred and twenty feet. In 191 1 a wood shop was built, sixty by 
one hundred and ten feet, a stock room, sixty by one hundred and sixty-eight 
feet, a lumber shed, forty by one hundred and sixty-eight feet, and their power 
house is thirty by forty feet. They have a steam plant and generate their own 
electricity. During this time there has been invested forty thousand dollars 
in new and modern machinery. The plant is lighted by electricity and heated 
by steam and they own their own water power and fire protection. They 
manufacture drills, seeders, cultivators and harrows and their trademark is 
"Ideal." In the first year of the company's existence they manufactured but 
ten machines, which were sold to the county and state trade. They soon found 
that satisfied patrons were the best advertisement and such was the reputation 
of the machines which they sent out that the next year their sale had increased 
to one hundred and the third to three hundred, while the present year will 
witness an output of eight thousand machines. During this time the company 
has developed single and double disc drills and a machine to which fertilizers 
can be attached and a device that will sow any grain from flax to peas. The 
product of the factory is sent throughout Wisconsin, North and South Da- 
kota, Minnesota. Montana. Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Texas, 
Iowa. Indiana and Ohio, and they employ about one hundred and sixty men. 
The business was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin and the present 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



33 



officers are Edward Beichl, president; Lawrence Fitch, vice president; R. C. 
Inman, secretary; and Charles Beichl, treasurer. Theirs is today one of the 
largest manufacturing concerns of this kind, not only of Beaver Dam, but of 
this part of the state, and the business has constituted an important feature 
in promoting the industrial activity and consequent prosperity of Dodge county. 

In February, 1898, Edward Beichl was married to Miss Jennie B. Rowell, 
a daughter of Ira and Mary I. Rowell and a sister of Mrs. Edla Inman, Wal- 
den I. Rowell, of Chicago, and Ira Rowell, of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Beichl 
occupy a very prominent social position and their beautiful home is noted for 
its attractive and warm-hearted hospitality. Energetic, farseeing, honest and 
public-spirited, in his business career he has operated boldly and continuously 
and by the stimulus of his exertions has aroused the enterprise of others 
and through this means has added to his own labors and furnished hundreds 
of workmen with remunerative employment. He has never been a public man 
in the ordinary sense, having no taste for official or political life even if his 
business interests would have permitted him to enter it, yet he has held many 
important relations to the public through the manufacturing enterprise which 
he has conducted, the public being a large indirect beneficiary. He early showed 
conspicuously the traits of character that have made his life brilliantly suc- 
cessful. When a young man in the employ of others he performed all the 
duties that devolved upon him, however humble and however small the recom- 
pense might be, conscientiously and industriously, and since starting in business 
on his own account a splendid prosperity has been steadily his. 



WALTER P. SCHWEFEL. 

Dodge county finds a worthy representative of its farming interests in Walter 
P. Schwefel, a native son, who is cultivating one hundred and twenty-five acres 
of land on section 21, Lebanon township. He was born September 11, 1888, and 
is a son of Paul and Louisa (Schwefel) Schwefel, also natives of Lebanon town- 
ship, where they make their home at the present time. 

Waller P. Schwefel was reared upon his father's farm and early became 
acquainted with the duties and labors which fall to the lot of the agriculturist. 
He attended the German and public schools of Lebanon township and when not 
busy with his books aided his father until he was eighteen years of age, when 
he accepted a position as clerk in a general merchandise store conducted by H. R. 
Moldenhauer & Company in Lebanon. This enterprise was sold in 1908 to J. W. 
Nass and Mr. Schwefel returned to the homestead, where he remained until his 
marriage in 191 1. In that year he purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres, 
where he has since resided. Ninety acres are enclosed by barbed wire fence and 
eighty acres Mr. Schwefel has under the plow. There is natural drainage and 
water is supplied to all parts of the land from a drilled well. This property Mr. 
Schwefel has in excellent condition and upon it he docs general farming, dairy- 
ing and stock-raising, making each department of his activities profitable. His 
fields are planted in hay and in all kinds of grain, the most of which he feeds to 
his stock, marketing only his barley and rye. lie breeds graded Holstein cattle 



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34 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



and blooded hogs and keeps besides eighteen cows for dairy purposes. A good 
business ability guides and directs his agricultural knowledge and has made him, 
while still a young man, a prosperous and substantial farmer. He is a stock- 
holder in the Schwefel Cheese Factory, to which he sells the products of his 
dairy, and is otherwise interested in business growth and expansion. 

On October 29, 191 1, Mr. Schwefel was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca 
Zwieg, a daughter of Henry and Henrietta (Miller) Zwieg, natives of Lebanon 
township, in which section they are residing upon a farm. Mrs. Schwefel is 
the eldest of twelve children and was born in Lebanon township, March 1. 1887. 
She and her husband belong to the Immanuel German Lutheran church. 

Mr. Schwefel votes the democratic ticket and keeps fully informed on the 
questions and issues of the day. His principal attention,- however, is given to 
farming and in this field he has won a success which is inseparable from able 
management and persevering work. 



Terrence R. Mallon, proprietor of the Park Hotel in Juneau, has been oper- 
ating this enterprise since April 15, 191 2. In less than a year he has made it 
one of the best hotels in the village, accomplishing this result by following 
fair and honorable business methods. He was born in County Armagh, Ireland. 
December 19, 1861, a son of John and Mary (McShane) Mallon, natives of 
that country. As a young man his father was a teamster and farmer, and came 
to America in 1864, settling in Columbia county. Wisconsin, at Otsego, in i8tVi. 
Here he engaged in railroad construction work in which line of activity he con- 
tinued until 1887 when he retired from active life and made his home with the 
subject of this review. He died ten years later in the seventy-first year of !ns 
age. His wife now resides on a farm near Doylestown, Columbia county, mak- 
ing her home with her son Frank. 

After completing his education in the public schools of Doylestown. Ter- 
rence R. Mallon worked as a farm hand until he was twenty-three years of age. 
He laid aside his books when he was nine and has been earning his own liveli- 
hood since that time, a fine example in attainments and qualities of a modern 
self-made man. When he had saved enough money he rented a farm and as 
a renter carried on general agricultural pursuits for fifteen years and then pur- 
chased one hundred and twenty acres in Scott township, Columbia county, upon 
which he resided for six years, finally exchanging the property for a smaller 
farm. His health failing he abandoned agriculture and went upon the road as 
a traveling salesman, handling the famous Wilson remedies throughout Fond 
du Lac county. After seventeen months he came to Fox Lake, Dodge county, 
where he resided two and one-half years and then came to Juneau continuing 
his sale of these medicines until April 15, 1912, when he purchased the Park 
Hotel, which he has since operated. During the short period of his connection 
with the management of this enterprise he has made extensive improvements, 
adding a first-class bar and other important features. It is a modern and up- 
to-date hostelry, equipped with all the newest accessories for the comfon ;wtd 



TERRENCE R. MALLON. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



35 



convenience of guests. It is one of the prosperous local enterprises and its 
proprietor has gained recognition as a business man of ability, whose labors 
have been important factors in the growth of the village. 

In September, 1898, Mr. Mallon was united in marriage to Miss Mary Egan, 
who was born in Marcella, Columbia county, January 20, 1871, a daughter of 
William and Mary (Ford) Egan, •natives of Ireland. Her father came to 
America in his early years and settled in Columbia county where for some time 
he was connected with the local railroad but afterward became a prosperous 
farmer. He died upon his property in this section in 1881 and his wife is still 
residing upon the homestead. During his life he held various important local 
offices, serving his fellow citizens ably and conscientiously and gaining a high 
place in the respect and esteem of his friends. Mr. and Mrs. Mallon have six 
children: William John, who was born December 20, 1899; Marion Elizabeth, 
born December 25, 1902; Luella, whose birth occurred June 24, 1905; Norma, 
and Irma, twins, whose births occurred January 6, 1910 ; and Audrey, born July 
26, 1912. All of the children reside at home. 

Mr. Mallon gives his political allegiance to the democratic party but has 
never sought public office. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and 
belongs to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He is interested in the growth 
and development of the section in which he has resided for so many years and 
always invests his money in local enterprises, being a stockholder in the Co- 
operative Creamery Company in Marcella and interested in various other im- 
portant concerns. He is truly a self-made man, for he has been dependent upon 
his own resources since he was nine years of age. This early training in initia- 
tive and independence is the secret of his success for it has aided him in appre- 
ciating and making use of the many opportunities which his ability commands. 



HERMAN E. BECHERT. 

Herman K. Bechert is a native son of Dodge county, born in the township 
of Hubbard, August 24, 1859, and has here resided ever since. His father, John 
Bechert, one of the pioneers of this section, was born in Germany, in the prov- 
ince of Brandenburg, on the 6th of June, 1824, and emigrated to America in 
1854, coming direct to Dodge county. He first found employment as a farm hand 
and was so engaged for two years. By strict economy he saved enough funds 
to enable him to buy a farm in Hubbard township, which he cleared and culti- 
vated for a number of years. In 1863, however, he removed to the place where 
the subject of this review now lives and there followed agricultural pursuits 
successfully until 1886. In 1855, one year after his arrival in this country, he 
married Miss Amelia Albert. 

Herman E. Bechert was reared at home and attended the district school 
and the German school at Horicon. He assisted his father with the work on the 
home farm until 1882, becoming well versed in the details of progressive agri- 
culture. He became well acquainted with all the branches of general farming 
and also gained valuable knowledge in raising live stock. In 1882 he was able 
to buy a part of his father's farm, which he cultivated independently until 1886, 



36 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



when he acquired the entire property. He has since followed farming and stock- 
raising along modern and progressive lines and has made many improvements 
upon his place, which enhance its value. His labors have not only been of finan- 
cial benefit to himself but have been important in the general agricultural devel- 
opment of this section. He plants such grains as are most suitable to soil and 
climate and derives from his labors satisfactory financial returns. He makes a 
specialty of dairying and sees to it personally that the most sanitary and cleanly 
conditions exist in this branch of his business. In 1885 he added to his buildings 
a new barn, thirty-six by seventy feet, and he has improved and remodeled his 
buildings and installed modern and up-to-date machinery to insure the largest 
possible returns from his work. 

Mr. "Bechert was married on Christmas eve of 1884 to Miss Amanda Meiss- 
ner. a native of the township of Clyman and a daughter of Martin and Louisa 
( Bieherman) Meissner, who were natives of Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Bechert were born six children: Herbert, who was born in 1888, and died in 
1892; Hilda, born in 1890, who in 1908 married Arthur Adams; Honora, born 
1892. who married in October, 1910, Everett Sette; Hortense, born in Decem- 
ber, 1894, who was married September 4, 1912, to Charles Borngroeber; Harta, 
born in 1896; and John, whose birth occurred in 1898. 

The family affiliate with the Evangelical church and they take active interest 
in the work of this organization and give to it their moral and material support. 
Mr. Bechert votes the republican ticket in national and state politics and takes 
a laudable interest in all questions of general importance. He has been promi- 
nent in the public life of the community in which he lives and for six years 
has served as town supervisor. His work in bettering educational facilities has 
been valuable and for fifteen years he has served in the important position of 
school treasurer and yet serves in that office. During his lifelong residence in 
Hubbard township he has made many friends who greatly esteem him for his 
manly qualities. As a farmer he has been successful and his labors have resulted 
in adding to the assets of Hubbard township one of its most valuable and 
prosperous farmers. 



JOHN C. ZANDER. 

Prominent among the enterprising, energetic and progressive business men 
of Beaver Dam is John C. Zander, president of the German National Bank, 
He early recognized the fact that success has its root in the recognition and 
improvement of opportunity and as the years have gone by he has therefore 
made good use of his time and talents until he has gained a conspicuous and hon- 
orable position in banking circles, while at the same time he is financially inter- 
ested in various corporations of the city. 

He was born in Germany, January 23, 1843, a son ol Christian and Mary 
(Dahl) Zander, who were also of German birth and lineage. The mother died 
in Germany, after which the father started for the United States with his 
family in 1855 but died while en route. In the meantime he had remarried, 




t JOHN C SANDER 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



39 



and the stepmother continued on the way with the family, numbering four chil- 
dren. The eldest daughter had previously come to America in 1854 and was 
married in this country to Henry Bcneke, who resided on a farm near Water- 
town, Wisconsin. Thither the Zander family made their way but later took up 
their abode in Watcrtown. 

John C. Zander was a young lad at the time of the arrival of the family in 
this state. His early education was acquired in the schools of Watertown and 
on starting out in life for himself he worked as a farm hand for two years. 
Not content with the educational opportunities he had thus far received, he 
later went to school through the winter months. His residence in Beaver Dam 
covers fifty-four years, dating from 1858. For eleven years he engaged in clerk- 
ing in a store but all this time was urged on by laudable ambition to save his 
money and make the most of his opportunities. At length his earnings enabled 
him to open a store in partnership with a Mr. Sherman under the firm style 
of Sherman & Zander. They carried a large and well selected line of general 
merchandise and were together from 1870 until 1884. In the latter year Mr. 
Zander purchased his partner's interest and remained as sole proprietor until 
1896, when he sold out to his son and his son-in-law. Since then he has lived 
practically retired save for his bank connections. The German National Bank 
was organized in 1891, its first officers being: Theodor Huth, president; D. 
Dickenson, vice president; George E. Congdon, cashier; and M. A. Jacobs, 
assistant cashier. The bank was capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and moved 
into a building that was erected the year before by a Milwaukee gentleman who 
planned to start a state bank but never did so. The German National Bank 
then purchased the building which it has since occupied. It is a two-story struc- 
ture, with offices on the second floor. On the death of Mr. Huth, in 1902, Mr. 
Zander succeeded to the presidency. He had been one of the organizers of the 
bank and one of its directors from the beginning and, always with voice in its 
management, he was well qualified to assume the duties of the presidency and 
has been the guiding spirit of the institution since that time. The bank has 
always followed a conservative policy that has safeguarded the interests of its 
patrons and at the same time has kept in touch with the most progressive and 
modern methods of conducting banking institutions. The present officers, in 
addition to Mr. Zander, arc: J. W. Miller, vice president; M. A. Jacobs, cash- 
ier; and Alfred G. Miller, assistant cashier. These gentlemen, together with 
A. G. Hill, D. P. Lamoreux and Herman Koch, constitute the board of direc- 
tors. The statement of the bank presents a most creditable showing and its policy 
commends it to the confidence of all. 

Something of the success which has attended the institution is indicated in 
the fact that its capital stock in 191 1 was increased to one hundred thousand 
dollars, in addition to which there is a surplus of twenty-five thousand dollars 
and undivided profits of about eleven thousand dollars. At the present time 
the building in which the bank is located is being remodeled, a new floor laid and 
new bank fixtures installed, while thirty-two feet of space have been added. 
A new vault has been put in and there is no equipment or accessory of a model 
bank that is today lacking. 

Mr. Zander has always been recognized as a man of resourceful business 
ability. From the outset of his career he has looked beyond the exigencies 

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of the moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future. His sound 
judgment and enterprise have made his aid a valuable factor in the conduct of 
important business interests and his cooperation has been largely sought. He 
is a stockholder of the Malleable Iron Company, a director and stockholder of 
the Beaver Dam Woolen Mills and was formerly interested in the cotton mill. 
He is likewise treasurer and director of the Malleable Iron Range Company. 
His opinions have ever carried weight in local business circles and his enter- 
prise has enabled him to pass far beyond the point of mediocrity and reach a 
place among the more successful few. 

On the 2d of May, 1867, Mr. Zander was married to Miss Minnie Ladwig, 
of Watertowh, Wisconsin, who was born in Germany and is a daughter of Jacob 
I-adwig, who brought his family to the United States in 1862 and settled at 
Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Zander have become the parents of six children, 
of whom three are living: Agnes, at home; Arthur, a merchant of Beaver 
Dam ; and Olga, the wife of Peter Pfeffer, a merchant of Beaver Dam. 

Mr. Zander holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and his political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party. 
For twenty years he has been school commissioner and the cause of education 
has always been able to count upon him as a champion of its interests. For a 
year he has served as alderman and for one year he was mayor of Beaver 
Dam. His interest has ever been that of a public-spirited citizen who deals not 
in glittering generalities but looks to practical results. Regarded as a citizen 
and in his social relations, he belongs to that public-spirited, useful and helpful 
type of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those 
channels through which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the 
greatest number. 



WILLIAM T. SCHWANTZ. 

William T Schwantz, the present incumbent of the office of register of deeds 
of Dodge county, is a native of Hubbard township, his birth having occurred there 
on the 4th of February, 1870. His parents were Frederick and Augusta Schwantz, 
natives of Germany, who emigrated to the United States about 1862, coming 
direct to this county. The father subsequently acquired a tract of land in Hub- 
bard township and diligently engaged in its cultivation until his death in 1890. 
He was survived by the mother, who continued to make her home on the farm 
until she passed away in 1893. They were Lutherans and belonged to the 
church at Horicon. The father was drafted into the Union army during the 
Civil war, but he never saw any active service, having been discharged before he 
reached the front. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schwaijtz, ouj sub- 
ject being the seventh in order of birth. 

The boyhood of William T. Schwantz was passed in the uneventful routine 
characteristic of life in the rural sections. His early education was obtained in 
the schools of his home district and the German Lutheran parochial school at 
Horicon, which he attended until confirmed at the age of thirteen years. Soon 
thereafter he began earning his own living, first as a farm hand but later he went 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



41 



to work in a stone quarry. There he sustained a serious injury to his hand while 
blasting rock, which for some time thereafter prevented his following any line 
of employment. As he was only eighteen when this occurred, he concluded to re- 
sume his studies and for three years thereafter he attended the high school at 
Horicon. At the expiration of that time he taught for a year, thus acquiring 
the money to enable him to pursue a business course in a commercial college at 
Milwaukee. Later he became identified with mercantile pursuits and for five 
and a half years conducted a general mercantile store at VVaupun. At the ex- 
piration of that time he disposed of his interests there and engaged in the same 
business at Lowell, Iowa. A well assorted stock offered at reasonable prices, 
courteous and considerate treatment of patrons, and commendable business 
methods were the dominant factors in his success and enabled him to build up a 
large trade. He profitably conducted this enterprise until elected to his present 
office in 191 1, when he exchanged his store for a Dodge county farm, which he 
still owns. He is' also extensively interested in the Lowell Canning Factory. 

On the 14th of April, 1898, Mr. Schwantz was united in marriage to Miss 
Amanda Seegert, who was born in Mayville, this county, on the 9th of June, 1873. 
She is a daughter of August and Ernestine Seegert, and is the oldest member 
in a family of six. The father engaged in farming during his early life but 
he later removed to Horicon where for many years he held the position of night 
watchman. Both he and the mother were natives of Germany. 

Mr. and Mrs. Schwantz are members of the Lutheran church. Politically 
Mr. Schwantz is a democrat and while residing at Lowell served for seven years 
as justice of the peace and for one year he was a member of the county board. 
Mr. Schwantz is honorable in his motives and conscientious in the discharge of 
his duties, creditably filling any position with which he has been identified. He 
is highly regarded in the communities where he has resided and is respected by 
all who have had transactions with him, as he is a man of unfaltering integrity. 



ADRIAN C. KARSTEN, M D. 

Dr. Adrian C. Karsten is one of the well known medical practitioners of Hori- 
con, where he has-been prominent as a physician and surgeon for twenty years. 
He was born in Forrcston, Ogle county, Illinois, on August 16, 1865, and is a son 
of john H. and Adriaane (v. d. Tak) Karsten, both of whom were born in The 
Netherlands. The father's birth occurred on the 16th of February, 1833, and his 
early life was spent in studying theology and medicine. He later was ordained 
as a minister of the gospel and for fifty years he has been active in promoting 
religious expansion. His residence in America dates from 1844, in which year he 
located in Holland, Michigan, where he was an active factor in the furthering 
of Christianity. He also attended school during that time in order to learn the 
English language and was graduated from Rutgers College, a theological semi- 
nary in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1862. He studied medicine afterward 
for one year and at the end of that time came to Fond du Lac county, where 
he took up his duties as a minister and had charge of various parishes. He 
worked in Illinois. Michigan and Wisconsin, staying in the latter state for four- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



teen years, first in Fond du Lac county and afterward in Sheboygan county. 
He afterward removed to Holland, Michigan, where he took up newspaper 
work. There he still resides and has retired from the ministry, although he is 
still active in literary work. His wife is also living. They became the parents 
of six children : Dr. Adrian C, the subject of this sketch : Elizabeth, the wife 
of John Rankins, a retired farmer of Coopersville, Michigan; Conrad, who 
is engaged in the jewelry business at Grand Rapids, Michigan; Anna, who is 
in the millinery business at Kalamazoo, Michigan; Carrie, the wife of Herman 
Lemknil, a rural free delivery mail carrier, at Oostburg, Wisconsin ; and Jennie, 
who resides with her parents in Holland, Michigan, where she is teaching music. 

Dr. Karsten was educated in the district schools of Fond du Lac county and 
attended the high school at Waupun. He entered Hope College in Holland, 
Michigan, and later attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He 
received his degree of M. D. from Rush Medical College. Chicago, and at the 
age of twenty-seven began practicing in Horicon. Since that time he has built 
up an extensive patronage which is accorded him on account of his expert knowl- 
edge of the underlying principles of his profession, upon his dexterity and 
skill, and upon his progressive and modern methods. Dr. Karsten is one of the 
substantial and representative physicians of Horicon. He devotes his entire 
time to his practice which is lucrative and constantly expanding. The territory 
in which he serves extends beyond the limits of the village and into Dodge 
county, and the Doctor uses an automobile with which to make his calls and has 
found this a convenient and rapid way of covering ground. From the very 
beginning his success has been gratifying, based as it is upon the firm foundation 
of scientific efficiency. He is now known and welcomed in many families in 
Horicon and Dodge county not only for his professional ability but for his genial 
and lovable personal qualities. 

Dr. Karsten was married in February, 1887, to Miss Mary M. McCoy, who 
was born in Baltimore. Maryland, January 26, 1865. She is a daughter of Henry 
B. and Caroline W. (Bentley) McCoy, the father a native of Virginia and the 
mother of England. Henry McCoy .was during his youth a rectifier, but later 
followed the occupation of fisherman. He met with financial reverses during the 
Civil war, losing thirty-seven thousand dollars in one day. He and his wife have 
now passed away. To Dr. and Mrs. Karsten have been born three children : 
Norma, whose birth occurred on the 5th of September, 1888, and who is the 
wife of Arthur Flory. chief engineer for the steam turbine department of the 
Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, by whom she has one child, Karsten. 
whose birth occurred in February, 1912; Jean, born June 7. 1894, who is attend- 
ing Sacred Heart Academy at Madison, Wisconsin; and John, born May 16, 
1896, who is a student in the Horicon high school. 

In his political affiliations Dr. Karsten is republican, but is not active as an 
office seeker. He belongs to the American Medical Association and the Wiscon- 
sin State and the Dodge County Medical Societies. He also holds membership 
in an association composed of the Ann Arbor graduates of this section of Wis- 
consin and is active in the affairs of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
way Surgeons Association, being the head surgeon of this organization in 
Horicon. He is prominent in the Masons and holds membership in the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. In his practice he is distinguished by enter- 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



43 



prise, by modernly progressive lines, by a broad knowledge of the many technical 
and special details regarding medicine and by a humanity and kindness which 
endear him to those with whom he comes in contact and make of every patient 
a firm friend. 



FREDERICK W. LUECK. 

For more than forty years Frederick W. Lueck has been successfully identi- 
fied with commercial circles in Juneau, and during that time he has been 
actively connected with municipal affairs. He is one of the citizens Germany 
has furnished Dodge county, his birth having occurred in Yankendorf Be- 
zirk, Brandenburg, on the 29th of July, 1844. His parents, Ludwig and Rosina 
(Clingbeil) Lueck, emigrated to the United States with their family in 1852, 
settling in Lebanon, this county, and there they both passed away. 

As he was a lad of only eight years when he came to this country with his 
parents, Frederick W. Lueck is thoroughly American in his ideas and views 
as well as in his business methods. His education was begun in the parochial 
schools of his native land and continued for a time in the district schools of 
Lebanon. When he was fifteen years of age he went to Milwaukee to learn 
the shoemakers' trade, and while serving his apprenticeship he attended night 
school. He was an ambitious youth and used his time to the best possible 
advantage, both in the workroom and when at leisure, his spare hours being 
largely devoted to self-improvement. The land of his adoption having be- 
come very dear to him, in the early days of the Civil war he responded to the 
nation's call for troops and on August 15. 1862, he enlisted as a private and 
went to the front with Company A, Twenty-sixth Regiment, Wisconsin Vol- 
unteers. Among the engagements in which he participated were- Chancellors- 
-ville, Gettysburg, Mission Ridge, the entire Atlanta campaign, including the 
siege of Atlanta and Sherman's march to the sea. Mr. Lueck took part in 
the grand review at Washington, D. C, following the close of the war. He 
was mustered out on the 1st of July, 1865. Immediately upon receiving his 
discharge he returned to Dodge county, settling in Horicon, where he en- 
gaged in the shoe business until 1870. In the latter year he came to Juneau 
and established the store he is now conducting, and during the intervening 
years has become numbered among the city's foremost business men. He 
is a man of earnest purpose, honorable methods and unquestionable integrity, 
and in the conduct of his enterprise has adhered to a policy that has enabled 
him to win and retain the confidence of the community. He who proves 
trustworthy in one capacity will invariably prove faithful to every duty con- 
fided in him, and Frederick W. Lueck is no exception to this rule as his 
fellow townsmen have long ago proven to their entire satisfaction. As a 
business man, citizen and public official he has contributed generously of his 
time, energy and means in the promotion of the town's development. He 
is both progressive and enterprising and can be depended upon to champion 
the adoption of every movement that he feels will advance the community's 
welfare either financially, educationally, socially or morally. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



It was on the 20th of October, 1869, that Mr. Lueck was married to Miss 
Wilhelmina Schauer of Theresa, and to them have been born the following chil- 
dren : William, who died in infancy ; Martin L., now judge of Dodge county ; 
Clara M., who is a court reporter; Robert W., a prominent member of the bar of 
Watertown, this state; and Arthur W. Mr. Lueck is very proud of his family, 
all of whom are a credit to their parents and are leading active and useful lives. 

In matters of religious faith the family are Protestants and are members 
of the German Reformed church. In politics he is a democrat, giving his 
allegiance to the progressive faction of that party. He has been for more 
than twenty years a member of the city council and helped to draw the city 
charter, while for thirty years he served on the school board. For sixteen 
years he was chief of the local fire department and for five he was a member 
of the board of supervisors. His record as a public official is one any man 
might well be proud of, as it has been noticeably free from the aspersions usually 
cast on those who are identified with political affairs. He is a man of strong 
convictions and fearlessness of purpose, and to the best of his ability fulfils 
his duty as it appears to him. As a public official he is honored and respected, 
as a private citizen he is held in deep regard by a large circle of friends and 
as a business man he is accorded the absolute trust and confidence of all who 
have had dealings with him. Prosperity has attended Mr. Lueck and in addi- 
tion to his other interests he has some valuable property holdings in Juneau, 
including a business block on the south side of the square. 



ALBERT H. BUSSEWITZ. 

Albert H. Bussewitz has for many years been identified with the political 
life of Dodge county, where he now holds the office of assessor of incomes. 
He is a member of one of the pioneer families and was born in Lomira town- 
ship, on the 2d of May, 1855, his parents being Frederick M. and Caroline 
(Pade) Bussewitz. They were born in Brandenburg in the vicinity of Berlin, 
Germany, the father's natal day being the nth of November, 1818, and that 
of the mother May 10, 1821. There they were likewise reared and married, 
emigrating to the United States in 1852. Their destination was Dodge county, 
and they came direct to Lomira township, where the father acquired land which 
he cultivated until 1870. He then disposed of this place and removed to I-owell 
township, where he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until he died 
in 1895. The mother passed away in 1892. In his early manhood the father 
served the usual period in the army required of every able-bodied German 
subject. He and the mother were devout members of the Lutheran church 
and reared their children in that faith. Their family numbered twelve, as 
follows : Frederick, who resides at Merton, Waukesha county, this state ; Louise, 
the widow of Frederick Vergenz, who resides in Juneau; Ferdinand, deceased; 
Frederica, the wife of August Schmidt, of Lomira township; August, who is 
a resident of Neillsville, Clark county, this state; Herman, of Turtle Lake, 
Barron count;. Wisconsin; Albert H., our subject; Amelia, the deceased wife 
of Herman Grahinski. of Miranda. South Dakota: Emma, who became the 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



45 



wife of Frank Hilliker, of Gas, Allen county, Kansas; Robert, who is a resi- 
dent of Lowell, this county ; and two, who died in infancy. 

The early life of Albert H. Bussewitz was passed on the home farm, 
in the work of which he began to assist soon after commencing his education in 
the district schools. He was given better advantages than fell to the lot of 
the average youth living in the country at that period and completed his course 
of study in the Wayland Academy. Upon the completion of his education he 
taught school during the winter months for four years and did farm work 
in the summer, remaining at home until he was married. Subsequently he 
purchased a portion of the old homestead from his father and engaged in 
farming for himself. He there continued his agricultural pursuits until 1899, 
when he came to Juneau and three years later he disposed of his farm and 
purchased the Rich farm, which is adjacent to the city of Juneau. He resided 
there until 1909, and in connection with the cultivation of his fields and stock 
raising operated a stone quarry, located on the place. Four years ago, in 1908, 
Mr. Bussewitz erected his present residence in Juneau and here he and his 
family have since made their home. He still owns his farm, which is now 
being managed by his eldest son and together they are engaged in the breeding 
and raising of pure-bred Holstein cattle, their herd numbering forty head. He 
has prospered in his various undertakings, and is financially interested in 
different local enterprises. He is secretary and treasurer of the Juneau Cheese 
& Butter Company, and he also owns stock in the Juno Motor Truck Com- 
pany, the Citizens Bank and the Lowell Canning Company. 

On the 27th of November, 1879, Mr. Bussewitz was married to Miss Au- 
gusta Schoenwetter, whose birth occurred in Germany, on the nth of Novem- 
ber, 1855. She is a daughter of Frederick and Wilhelmina (Baltzer) Schoen- 
wetter, natives of Brandenburg, Germany, the father having been born on the 
1st of December, 1818, and the mother about two years later. In 1856, to- 
gether with their family they emigrated to the United States, their capital 
consisting of twenty-five cents upon their arrival in Lowell, this county. The 
father was an industrious and enterprising man, however, and readily found 
employment. His diligence united with the thrifty mother's capable manage- 
ment soon enabled them to acquire sufficient means to buy a small tract of 
land and engage in farming for themselves. He added to his holdings from 
time to time as his circumstances permitted until he acquired extensive prop- 
erty interests. They both passed away in Lowell, where they were well known 
and highly respected. In matters of faith they were Lutherans and belonged 
to the German church of that denomination. The family of Mr and Mrs. 
Schoenwetter numbered seven, Mrs. Bussewitz being the fourth in order of 
birth. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bussewitz have been born six children: William, who 
married Hattie Schwandt and is residing on his father's farm ; Irene, the 
wife of Herbert H. Becker, who is engaged in farming in Clyman township; 
Orlo. who is residing on a farm south of Juneau owned by his father ; Walter, 
principal of the Wild Rose high school, who married Addie Rupnow ; Ada, 
the wife of Bernard Hilgendorf, a druggist of Martell. this state; and Max. 
who graduated from the Juneau high school with the class of 1912, and is 
now a student at the State University. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Ever since granted the right of franchise upon attaining his majority, Mr. 
Bussewitz has been more or less actively identified with local politics, his sup- 
port being given to the democratic party. For twenty years he was school 
clerk in Lowell township, while for four years he served as assessor, and for 
five he discharged the duties of chairman. In 1899 he was elected county 
clerk, which office he held for four years, while for ten he has been acting as 
deputy. He was also deputy supervisor of assessments for a year, and for 
three he was supervisor of assessments. During the period of his residence 
in Juneau he has been elected mayor, president of the council, alderman, and 
member of the commission of public works, and since January, 191 2, he has 
been assessor of incomes. He is a business man of more than average capa- 
bility and has been officially identified with different local enterprises, among 
these being the Elba Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was director 
for two years and treasurer for three. He is a member of the Lutheran church 
as is also his wife and family. Mr. Bussewitz is a man of good principles and 
high standards and has not only proven efficient and capable as a public official 
but has managed to maintain his honor and keep his integrity above question. 
He is esteemed and respected in his community where he has many friends, 
the majority of whom have known him from boyhood. 



GEORGE W. MORSE. 

For more than half a century the name of Morse has been prominently 
identified with the political history of Dodge county, the family now being 
ably represented by George W. Morse. His birth occurred in Mayville, this 
county, on the 19th of December, 1848, his parents being William M. and 
Margaret (Reynolds) Morse. The father, who was one of twelve children, 
was born in England in 1827, but in his early youth he came to America, resid- 
ing for a time in the state of New York. In 1842 he came to Milwaukee and 
entered the employ of Sol Juneau, but the next year he returned to New York 
where he held the position of deputy department surveyor until 1846. He sub- 
sequently came back to Milwaukee and went to work for Sol Juneau at 
Theresa, where he was first engaged in surveying, having been appointed dis- 
trict surveyor by Territorial Governor Dodge. In 1847 he was married to 
Miss Reynolds, who was born in the state of New York about 1830, and they 
located in Williamstown. After the death of his wife in 1849 he removed to 
Ashippun township, making his home there until 1868, when he went to Rubi- 
con, where he passed the remainder of his life. Mr. Morse was one of the 
prominent pioneer settlers of Dodge county, and always took an active interest 
in promoting its development. He was serving his third term in the state 
legislature at the time of his death in 1875, having been a member of this body 
in 1857 and 1866. He was county supervisor and a member of the board of 
supervisors from the time he located in Theresa until he passed away. He was 
a man well endowed for pioneering, possessing the judgment, foresight and 
breadth of view which enabled him to see things in their proper proportions, 
and the resolution of purpose and determination to remain true to his convic- 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



47 



tions. His family numbered eight, but our subject was the only child born of 
his first marriage. 

The life of George W. Morse has not been in any way remarkable, save 
as it has been characterized by a fidelity to duty, sincerity of purpose and an 
integrity that is not often associated with those in public service. He was reared 
amid pioneer conditions, and given practically the same educational advantages 
received by the average youth of that period residing in this section of the 
west. He became self-supporting at the age of eighteen years, but remained 
at home until he had attained his majority. His knowledge of surveying was 
acquired from his father, with whom he worked from early youth until the 
latter's death. When not following his vocation he worked on farms or fol- 
lowed any other occupation, which enabled him to earn an honest living. Dur- 
ing the early days he was engaged at various times in surveying and locating 
lumber grants in the north, but he has usually followed his profession in this 
section. He was appointed county surveyor in 1875, and has ever since been 
identified with local official life. In 1884, he began his duties as clerk of the 
court, in which capacity he served for six years. Previous to his election as 
clerk of the court he also served for ten years as a member of the board of 
supervisors. 

On the 7th of July, 1871, Mr. Morse was married to Miss Florence Rob- 
inson, a native of the state of New York, who passed away the year following 
their marriage. In 1881, was celebrated his marriage to Miss Bridget O'Con- 
nor, a native of Ireland. Three children were born to them, all of whom are 
now deceased as is also the mother, whose death occurred in 1890. In 1892, 
Mr. Morse married Miss Winnie E. Flanagan, who was born in this county in 
1862. Her parents, both of whom are deceased, were pioneer settlers of 
Dodge county, where the father acquired extensive property interests. To 
Mr. Morse and his present wife have been born the following children: G. 
Earl, whose birth occurred in 1893; Margaret, whose natal day was in Au- 
gust, 1894; and Raymond, who was born in 1897. 

Ever since granted the right of franchise Mr. Morse has given his support 
to the democratic party, his indorsement being accorded to the progressive fac- 
tion of that body. Through his long connection with public affairs he has be- 
come widely known in the county, where he has many friends by whom he 
is accorded the esteem and respect invariably paid the man of honorable motives 
and upright principles. 



WALTER G. GRIMMER. 

Walter G. Grimmer, in charge of the chemical department of the Beaver 
Dam Malleable Iron Works, is one of the well known and representative citi- 
zens of Beaver Dam. His birth occurred in Kewaunee, Kewaunee county, 
Wisconsin, on the 5th of December, 1872, his parents being George and Bertha 
(Lorenz) Grimmer. The father, who was born in 1827, passed away in the 
year 1907. He came to Kewaunee from New Brunswick in the early '40s and 
was an active and prominent factor in the upbuilding of that city. He was 



48 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



engaged in the lumbering business and was likewise connected with railroad 
interests, serving as vice president of the Green Bay Railroad for a number of 
years. In financial circles he was known as a director of the State Bank. His 
political allegiance was given to the republican party and his prominence in 
its ranks is indicated by the fact that in 1880 he was chosen state senator. To 
him and his wife were born two children, namely: Walter G., of this review; 
and Mrs. Laura G. Haney, who is a resident of Kewaunee 

Walter G. Grimmer acquired his early education in the graded and high schools 
of Kewaunee and subsequently entered the University of Wisconsin, where 
he pursued special courses in English and chemistry, arid where he was gradu- 
ated in 1893. Going to Duluth, he was there connected with Morris Thomas 
in the lumber business. In 1897 he went to Prescott, Arizona, and remained 
in the service of the American Refining & Smelting Company as a chemist 
until 1905. In that year he removed to Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and was there 
employed as chemist in the zinc extraction works. Since leaving that place 
he has been in charge of the chemical department of the Beaver Dam Malle- 
able Iron Works. 

On the 15th of October, 1903, Mr. Grimmer was united in marriage to Miss 
Violet M. Hatz, a daughter of Daniel and Kathrine Hatz, of Prescott, Arizona. 
Mrs. Grimmer has a sister and brother, Mrs. A. W. Bork and Albert G. Hatz, 
both of whom are residents of Prescott, Arizona. 

At the polls Mr. Grimmer supports the men and measures of the republi- 
can party, being convinced that its principles are most conducive to good gov- 
ernment. His religious faith is that of the Episcopalian church. Fraternally 
he is identified with the Masons, belonging to the blue lodge, the chapter and 
the commandery. In matters of citizenship he is loyal and cooperates in many 
measures that are factors for the general good. 



George Milton Hodgins, who is successfully engaged in the practice of vet- 
erinary surgery in Juneau, was born in Lucan, Canada, on the 19th of April, 
1866. He is a son of George W. and Fanny (Lynch) Hodgins, also natives of 
Canada, where the father engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 
June, 191 1 The mother is still living and continues to make her home in 
Canada. Four children were born of their marriage, of whom our subject is the 
second in order of birth. 

The early life of George Milton Hodgins was passed in very much the same 
manner as that of other farmer lads. At the usual age he began his education 
in the public schools of Lucan, which he continued to attend until graduated 
from the high school. In order to acquire a broader knowledge of business meth- 
ods he later entered a commercial college at London, Ontario, from which he 
was also graduated, and then began his independent career as a wage earner. 
A commercial career was not entirely to his liking and he subsequently began his 
professional studies in the Veterinary college of Toronto, being awarded his de- 
gree with the class of 1890. For two years after his graduation he engaged in 



GEORGE MILTON HODGINS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



49 



practice with a veterinary surgeon at Lucan, but at the expiration of that time he 
once more turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and took over the man- 
agement of his father's farm. Two years later he came to Juneau and here he 
has ever since been engaged in practice. Dr. Hodgins' early experience on the 
farm and knowledge of stock united with his thorough professional course have 
well qualified him for his career. During the period of his residence here he 
has become recognized as a capable practitioner and is meeting with success. 

On the 5th of July, 1905, Dr. Hodgins was united in marriage to Miss May 
Williams, who was born at Dodgeville, Iowa county, this state, and is a daughter 
of William B. and Mary Williams. The father, who was one of the prominent 
farmers of Iowa county, is now deceased, but the mother is still living and makes 
her home in Dodgeville. Two children have been born of this marriage: George 
Ray, whose birth occurred on the nth of August, 1909; and Winifred Gwen- 
dolyn, whose natal day was May 25, 191 1. 

Fraternally Dr. Hodgins is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, belonging 
to the blue lodge of Juneau chapter of Horicon and commandery at Beaver 
Dam, while he maintains relations with his fellow practitioners through the 
medium of his connection with the Wisconsin State Veterinary Association. 
He supports the democratic ticket and takes an active interest in local politics. 
At the present time he is representing his ward in the city council, discharging 
his duties in this connection with efficiency and to the general satisfaction of the 
community. 



JOHN H. CARROLL. 

John H. Carroll, who is the present highway commissioner, was born in 
Shields township, Dodge county, on the 8th of December, 1865, and is a son 
of Frederick Patrick and Anna (Morrison) Carroll. The parents were both 
born in the state of New York, the father's birth having occurred in 1818 and 
that of the mother in 1832. In 1846, Frederick Carroll came to Wisconsin and 
engaged in teaming for several years thereafter between Oshkosh and Milwau- 
kee. Later he purchased a tract of government land in Shields township, which 
he cultivated with very good success until 1868. He then disposed of it and 
removed to Clyman township, and four years later he became a resident of 
Lowell township, where he passed away on March 31, 1909. The mother sur- 
vived him for a year. Our subject is the second in order of birth in a family of 
eight, the others being as follows : Martin, who died in infancy ; James, who is a 
resident of the state of Washington; Marie, who is teaching in St. Regina's 
Academy; and Stephen, Terry, Frederick and Michael, who are deceased. 

Reared at home, the early education of John H. Carroll was acquired in the 
common schools of this county. Later he continued his studies in the North- 
western University at Watertown and he also pursued a business course at St. 
Francis Academy, Milwaukee. When he was eighteen he left home and went 
west and for two years thereafter engaged in railroading. At the expiration of 
that time he returned to this county, settling on a farm in Lowell township. 
He engaged in agricultural pursuits during the summer months while for three 



50 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



years his winters were devoted to the acquirement of a better education. He 
taught for one term, but continued to reside on his farm, which he cultivated 
for several years thereafter and still owns, but he now makes his home in Juneau. 
He also owns some land in North Dakota and is a stockholder in several of the 
local cheese factories. 

Fraternally Mr. Carroll is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Modern 
Woodmen of America. His political views coincide with those of the democratic 
party, but in local elections he votes for the man he deems best qualified for the 
office, irrespective of politics. He has held various local offices and served for 
four years as chairman of the township, and twelve years as clerk, while at the 
present time he is highway commissioner. Mr. Carroll is a capable business 
man, of good principles and reliable methods, and enjoys the respect and esteem 
of a large circle of acquaintances, many of whom were the comrades of his 
boyhood days. 



Arthur W. Wilcox, vice president of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Com- 
pany, makers of improved grain drills and seeders in Horicon, has made a 
gradual rise from the position of clerk in the industrial institution, with which 
he is now connected, to an important and responsible office. He has shown 
himself equal to his place, having a power of business administration and energy 
of a constructive and organizing kind. He is numbered among the prominent 
and enterprising citizens of Horicon and is widely known in industrial and fra- 
ternal circles. He was born in Oak Grove township, September 4, 1859, and is 
a son of Owen B. and Sarah Ann (Potter) Wilcox, the former a native of Con- 
necticut, where his birth occurred September 20. 1824, and the latter of New 
York state, where she was born on the 16th of October, 1827. The father was 
a merchant in New York state in the early years of his active life and was suc- 
cessful in that line of activity until he came to Wisconsin in 1855. He settled 
near Juneau and engaged in farming, in which occupation he continued until 
the death of his wife which occurred in November, 1900. In that year he gave 
up active agricultural labor and in the following spring left the farm and took 
up his residence in Horicon with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bodden, with whom he 
is still living. He and his wife had four children: Ida May, who married W. D. 
Reed, a traveling salesman with headquarters in Sioux City, Iowa; Arthur W., 
the subject of this sketch ; Carrie Y., the wife of Frank Bodden, a lumber dealer 
in Horicon ; and Lyman, who died in infancy. 

Arthur Wilcox was educated in the Sixth district school of Oak Grove town- 
ship and later attended the public schools of Horicon. At the age of seventeen 
he obtained a position as clerk in a general store in Juneau where after seven 
years of continuous service he entered the employ of the Van Brunt Manufac- 
turing Company, one of the largest industrial institutions in Dodge county. Mr. 
Wilcox's connection with the factory began in November, 1884, when he en- 
tered upon his duties as clerk. His rise was rapid and came as a natural re- 
sult of his ability and efficiency. In 1886 he was elected secretary and con- 



ARTHUR W. WILCOX. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



51 



tinued in that office until 191 1 when he assumed his present position as vice 
president. During the short time of his activity in this connection Mr. Wil- 
cox has shown himself equal to his responsibilities. He has adhered to his 
policy of legitimate expansion and has carried out his ideas in a modern and 
progressive way. He is straightforward and thoroughly upright and his rapid 
rise in the business world is an evidence of the power of these qualities in insur- 
ing success. 

On September 26, 1883, Mr. Wilcox was united in marriage to Miss Hattie 
Van Brunt, the youngest daughter of Daniel C. and Mary (Wright) Van Brunt. 
She was born in Mayville, August 23, 1861, and died July 27, 1909. She and 
her husband became the parents of two children : Howard Van Brunt, who was 
born on October 11, 1886, and who is now assistant cashier in the Horicon State 
Bank, and Russell Arthur, whose birth occurred on the 26th of October, 1899, 
and who is attending school. 

In his political views Mr. Wilcox is a stanch republican and served his fel- 
low citizens as mayor of Horicon for four years during which time he did able 
and progressive work and obtained for his community many needed improve- 
ments. He belongs to the Presbyterian church and is favorably known in the 
section in which he lives as a man of upright and straightforward character. 
Fraternally Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Horicon Blue Lodge, No. 40, A. F. 
& A. M.; Horicon Chapter, No. 24; Beaver Dam Commandery; the Wisconsin 
Consistory; and the Mystic Shrine. For twenty-eight years he has given his 
energies to one firm and his service has been always faithful and valuable. He 
has risen on account of his genuine worth and his success has had a double ef- 
fect in promoting his own prosperity and in adding to the progress of a grow- 
ing industrial institution. 



GEORGE ELSER. 



Throughout the greater period of his manhood George Elser has been con- 
nected with the grocery trade either as an emlpoye or as a merchant in that line 
of business. Five years ago he established his present store in Beaver Dam and 
has since successfully conducted the business as senior partner of the firm of 
Elser & Company. He follows modern methods, holds to high commercial stand- 
ards and recognizes the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement, 
putting forth every effort to please his patrons. He was born March 29, 1876, 
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a son of Christian and Pauline (Schenner) Elser, whose 
children were five in number, the others being: Fannie, Elizabeth and Chester, 
all of Oshkosh; and Margaret, the wife of Wallace Herbst, of Antigo. The 
Elsers come of German ancestry, the paternal grandfather of our subject having 
been George Elser, who was born in Germany and for a time was a resident of 
Pennsylvania before he removed westward to Wisconsin. His son, Christian 
Elser, was born in Pennsylvania and in the pioneer period of Wisconsin 
worked on his father's farm, aiding in the early agricultural development of the 
district in which they lived. 



52 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



George Elser, whose name introduces this record, pursued his education in 
the public schools of Oshkosh to the age of thirteen years, and from that period 
has been dependent entirely upon his own resources. He was first employed 
in the factories and mills of Oshkosh until twenty-one years of age, since which 
time he has been connected with the grocery business. For six years he was 
employed as a clerk in grocery stores in Oshkosh. For four years he was con- 
nected with the Newton & Wenz Company and about 1907 embarked in business 
on his own account on North Spring street. He removed to his present loca- 
tion about 1908 and two years ago admitted Samuel Elser to a partnership in 
the business, which has since been conducted under the firm style of George 
Elser & Company. Theirs is a well appointed store, supplied with a large line 
of staple and fancy groceries, and their success is the merited reward of honor- 
able dealing and courteous and obliging treatment of their patrons. 

In 1905 George Elser was married to Miss Ella Fischer, a daughter of J. E. 
and Minnie (Schultz) Fischer. Mr. and Mrs. Elser have three children, of whom 
a daughter, Ruth D., died in infancy. The others are: Harold, born in 1907; 
and Ruby, in 1909. Mr. Elser is prominent in fraternal circles, holding mem- 
bership with the Odd Fellows lodge, of which he is a past grand ; the Equitable 
Fraternal Union ; and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is likewise a mem- 
ber of the Revere Club. 



Edward C. Rehfeld. the present postmaster of Horicon, Wisconsin, and for 
ten years engaged in the harness business in that city, was born in the district 
where he now resides, October 26, 1874. He is a son of Charles William and 
Fredericka (Hochschild) Rehfeld, both natives of Brandenburg, Germany, 
where the father's birth occurred on August 31, 1836, and the mother's on Au- 
gust 14, 1846. The father during his early life was engaged in the agricultural 
implement business and also in the insurance line. He came to America in 
1856, making his home in Juneau and later at Hustisford, Wisconsin, where 
he worked in the employ of others until the outbreak of the Civil war. He en- 
listed in Company C, Sixteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, as a private but 
was later promoted to the rank of sergeant of his company. His service ex- 
tended over a period of three years and eleven months and he was mustered 
out at the end of that time on account of disability, having been wounded in 
the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. After he was discharged he went 
to Horicon, where he engaged in the sale of agricultural implements until his 
retirement. He served on the county board for several terms and acted as 
supervisor. He was justice of the peace in the years immediately following the 
war of the Rebellion and is known as a public-spirited and representative citizen. 
He also dealt in real estate for a short time but is now living retired. 

Edward C. Rehfeld is the fourth in a family of eight children. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Horicon and his early life was spent in helping 
his father in the conduct of his business. At the age of twenty-four years he pur- 



EDWARD C. REHFELD. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



53 



chased his father's interest in the harness business, in which occupation he was 
successful He was appointed postmaster of Horicon in 1909 and one year 
after that event abandoned the harness-making business. He is now devoting 
his entire attention to the duties of his office and to the carrying on of his in- 
surance enterprise. He is a member of the firm of Rehfeld & Neitzel of Hori- 
con and is active in the operation of one of the successful insurance concerns 
in the community. His harness-making business was successful and he aban- 
doned it only in order to give more conscientious service to the government in 
the able management of the postofficc at Horicon. 

On October 27, 1910, Mr. Rehfeld was united in marriage to Miss Alice 
Herger, who was born in Horicon, November 9, 1875. To their union was born 
one child, Arleen, whose natal day was July 9, 1912. Mr. Rehfeld is a con- 
sistent republican and is interested in the affairs of his native section although 
he never seeks public office. He is treasurer of the local fire department and sec- 
retary of the Advancement Association. He belongs to the Masonic order, 
holding membership in Horicon Lodge, No. 40, A. F. & A. M., of which he is 
the present master, and in Chapter No. 24, R. A. M. His life has not been con- 
spicuous in any way but its activities have always been straightforward and hon- 
orable, his interest in the affairs of his community intelligent and his public 
spirit broad and effective. These qualities as elements in his character have 
made him successful according to the truest standards and have gained him 
recognition as a native son, who is a credit to his community. 



HARRY MARSH. 

Harry Marsh is secretary of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, having 
advanced to this position from that of stenographer in nineteen years. His ser- 
vices during that time have been valuable and loyal for he has worked always 
in the interests of the company with which he is identified and has made his 
own advantage subservient to that of his employers. He is a native son of 
Horicon and was born August 19, 1871. His parents were Harry Butler and 
Emeline Frances (Eggleston) Marsh, natives of New York state. His father 
was born on April 21, 1822, and in his early life was a blacksmith. He came to 
Wisconsin in the early days of its settlement and located at Horicon in 1846. 
Here he established a mercantile business and operated it in conjunction with 
a mill. He also conducted a livery enterprise, served as postmaster and for some 
years was president of the village. He was a representative and prominent 
citizen and continued his residence in Horicon until his death, which occurred 
on the 18th of April, 1899. He had survived his wife by a number of years, 
her death having occurred on March 18, 1887. They were the parents of nine 
children, six of whom are living: Frank Eggleston, who is a shoe manufacturer 
in Milwaukee; William, who is a train despatcher on the St. Louis & San Fran- 
cisco Railroad, with headquarters in Thayer, Missouri; Louis, who is identified 
with the Northwestern Insurance Company of Milwaukee; May, who also re- 
sides in Milwaukee; Harry, the subject of this sketch; and Carrie, who is a 
stenographer in La Crosse. 



54 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Harry Marsh attended the public schools of his native city and began busi- 
ness life for himself when he was twenty-two years of age. At that time he 
became connected with the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company as stenographer 
and since that time has been continuously identified with the concern. After 
one year in his original position he was made shipping clerk and for two years 
fulfilled the duties of this office ably and well. He was promoted to the posi- 
tion of collection clerk and later had full charge of the collection department. 
After several years of capable service he was again promoted, acting as sales 
manager until 1912, when he was appointed secretary, which office he now holds. 
His business standards are high and his integrity unquestioned and he adds to 
fhese qualifications untiring industry, a shrewd, discriminating and judicious 
mind and a comprehensive grasp of modern industrial conditions. These have 
made him successful as a factor in the growth of one of the largest manufac- 
turing enterprises in Dodge county and have been forces in his individual suc- 
cess while at the same time they have influenced the broader growth of the es- 
tablishment with which he is connected. 

On October 2, 1900, Mr. Marsh was united in marriage to Miss Lucie Derge, 
who was born near Rolling Prairie, on February 8, 1874, and is a daughter of 
Herman and Marie Derge. The father was a millwright by trade and later be- 
came a farmer in Beaver Dam township. He died in 1900 and is survived by 
his wife, who makes her home in Horicon. In their family were seven children, 
of whom the wife of our subject is the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Marsh are 
the parents of two children: Melbourne Derge, born February 4, 1907; and 
Janet Dorothea, born May 24, 1909. 

In his political views Mr. Marsh is consistently republican and has served 
as a member of the Horicon city council and has also done active work on the 
fire and police board. He is prominent in fraternal circles, holding membership 
in the Masonic order, in which organization he belongs to the chapter and com- 
mandery. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian church. As secretary of the 
Van Brunt Manufacturing Company he occupies a leading place in industrial 
circles. He is a type of the modern business man who has risen by his own 
efforts. He is still in the prime of life, the nineteen years of his past prosperity 
being only an indication of greater success to come. 



Henry B. Sherman, who died in Burnett, Wisconsin, on July 14, 1894, was 
one of the most successful hotel men in this section of the United States, con- 
ducting various enterprises of this kind in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota. 
He had acquired a wide and varied experience in his line of business, which 
requires so much tact, judgment and circumspection, was thoroughly practical 
and progressive, and scrupulously honest in his business relations, building upon 
these foundations a distinct success. He was also well known as an expert 
stock-raiser and farmer in Wisconsin, where he owned Spring Brook farm, one 
of the most beautiful and model agricultural properties in the state. He had 
a wide acquaintance in various parts of Wisconsin where he had resided since 



HENRY B. SHERMAN. 




'■■■(■■ | 

J priUa 
i nin 

•fit* 




H. B. SHERMAN 

i 

i 



Google 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



57 



1857, and his death was the occasion of widespread and genuine sorrow. He was 
born in Massachusetts, on April 6, 1830, and upon his father's side is of English 
origin. His mother was of Holland ancestry. 

Henry B. Sherman was the youngest in a family of four children. He was 
educated in the public schools of his native state and upon the death of his 
father, which occurred when he was eight years of age, he went to live with his 
sister, whose husband was prominent in the hotel business. At the age of eigh- 
teen Mr. Sherman began his business career as a hotel derk and after some 
time spent in this occupation in various places was employed in the Winthrop 
Hotel of Boston for two years. During the summer season he clerked in various 
resorts in the White Mountains and spent three years in a hotel at Gorham and 
the Crawford House, White Mountain Notch, New Hampshire. He was an 
able and efficient employe and his advancement was rapid and well deserved. 
In 1857 he was requested by Mr. Merrill and Mrs. George Hartwall, officials of 
the St. Paul railroad to go west to Wisconsin and open a railroad restaurant 
and hotel at Burnett Junction, on what was then the Prairie du Chien Railroad. 
He accepted their offer and for seven years ran an enterprise of this kind. 
On February 3, 1868, he removed to Toledo, where he established a junction 
hotel in the railroad station. This he managed until 1874 when he purchased 
the Plankington House in Milwaukee. He remained in the latter city for three 
years, meeting with his usual success in the conduct of his enterprise. 

While a resident of Toledo Mr. Sherman had purchased an eighty acre 
farm in that vicinity and had operated it in conjunction with his hotel business. 
He left it in charge of a manager during the three years he conducted the 
Plankington House in Milwaukee but at the end of that time removed to his 
property which he called Spring Brook farm and engaged in agriculture. The 
place is famous today as one of the most beautiful farms in the state. It has 
sanitary and modern buildings, attractively grouped. Mr. Sherman was well 
known as a large importer of high-grade stock and was the owner of the first 
Percheron horse ever brought to Wisconsin. He raised Shorthorn cattle, sheep 
and Berkshire hogs, all pure-blooded stock and attended every agricultural 
fair held in Milwaukee for many years, exhibiting sometimes as many as four- 
teen carloads of thoroughbred stock. Mr. Sherman built modern barns, grana- 
ries, and outbuildings upon his property. He beautified it by planting shade trees, 
and kept swans and ducks upon the numerous fish ponds. After disposing of his 
interests in Milwaukee he retired to his farm and there remained until January 
1, 1880, when he removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, and opened the handsome 
new Dennison Hotel, which he conducted until November 16, 1885. He sold out 
on that date, in order to go to Minneapolis where he purchased the Nicolette 
and was identified with its management for three years. In July, 1888, he re- 
moved to Ashland, Wisconsin, where he ran the Chewanmagon Hotel for two 
years, abandoning this enterprise at the end of that time in order to retire to 
Spring Brook farm. 

In 1854 Mr. Sherman was united in marriage to Miss Martha H. Ladd, a 

daughter of Jonathan Ladd of Haverhill, New Hampshire. She is a graduate 

of the Haverhill Academy and remained at home until her marriage. She is 

now living in Beaver Dam, where she has resided since 1898. 
vo«. n-4 



58 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



In his political views Mr. Sherman was independent and although not aspir- 
ing to public office, was intelligently interested in the growth and development of 
his section. He did not affiliate with any religious organization but molded his 
life along high standards of upright living and thinking. He died on July 14, 
1894, in Burnett, Wisconsin, leaving many friends to mourn his loss. The 
funeral took place under the auspices of the Masons. His life work was con- 
stantly constructive and marked a distinct advance in methods of modern hotel 
keeping. His influence was felt in his line of activity in many localities and was 
a factor in growth, because it was always progressive. He gained recognition 
as an able business man, whose integrity and sincerity of purpose influenced his 
career. 



August Charles William Luedtke, proprietor of a drug establishment at 
Horicon, has built up a profitable business and enjoys an extensive trade in this 
connection. His birth occurred on a farm near Iron Ridge, Dodge county, on the 
8th of October, 1881, his parents being John and Anna (Stolle) Luedtke. The 
father was born in Germany on the 1st of December, 1854, while the mother's 
birth occurred near Iron Ridge, this county, on the 27th of June, 1863. When 
about three years of age John Luedtke was brought to the United States by his 
parents, the family home being established in Milwaukee. Subsequently he took 
up his abode near Iron Ridge, in Herman township, this county, there purchased 
land and began farming. He yet makes his home here and general agricultural 
pursuits still claim his attention. Both Mr. and Mrs. John Luedtke are numbered 
among the substantial and esteemed citizens of the community. 

A. C. W. Luedtke obtained his early education in the district schools of Her- 
man township and later attended the high school at Horicon. When twenty years 
of age he left the parental roof and entered upon an apprenticeship in a drug 
store at Horicon, thus serving for five years. During that period he pursued a short 
course in pharmacy at the Milwaukee Medical college. He next spent one year 
in relief work and then embarked in business on his own account, purchasing a 
drug store at Markesan. which he conducted for two and a half years. On 
the expiration of that period he removed his stock to his present location in 
Horicon, also purchasing the stock in the establishment he bought. He carries 
a complete line of drugs and druggists' sundries, stationery, etc., and enjoys an 
enviable patronage. Mr. Luedtke is a stockholder in the Wisconsin Pharmaceu- 
tical Company and devotes his entire attention to the interests of his business, 
which is steadily growing. 

It was on the 8th of October, 1908, that Mr. Luedtke was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Emma Fcnske, who was born near Markesan, Green I-ake county, 
Wisconsin, on the 10th of March, 1890, her parents being Gustav and Mary 
(Fratzke) Fenske. Her father is a retired agriculturist residing at Markesan. 
Our subject and his wife have one child, Franklin Gustav, whose natal day was 
October 19, 1909. 



AUGUST CHARLES WILLIAM LUEDTKE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 59 

Politically Mr. Luedtke is an independent republican but his aspirations have 
never been in the line of office holding. His fraternal relations are with the 
Masons at Horicon and also the Woodmen. He has already won a creditable po- 
sition in business circles for one of his years and well deserves recognition among 
the successful and representative citizens of his native county. 



ALPHEUS F. RYDER. 

Alpheus F. Ryder is one of the substantial and enterprising business men 
of Juneau, where for nineteen years he has been engaged in buying and ship- 
ping live stock, in connection with which he is managing the Juneau Cheese 
& Butter Company, and is interested in promoting other local industries. A 
native of Dodge county, his birth occurred at Hustisford on the 24th of July, 
1861, his parents being Francis and Mary (Van Blaricom) Ryder. The father, 
who was born in the state of New York in August, 1823, always engaged in 
farming. He was an orphan boy and was taken from the poor house by the 
superintendent at about eight years of age and reared with his own family. 
When old enough to work himself he, with George Baker, an uncle of our 
subject, came to Wisconsin. He came to this county in 1846 and acquired a 
tract of government land at Hustisford, in the cultivation of which he dili- 
gently engaged during the remainder of his life. He passed away on his farm 
on the 19th of May, 1885. The mother, whose birth occurred on the 19th of 
April, 1833, was a native of Canada. To them were born eight children in 
the following order: Alpheus, who died in infancy; Abbie, the widow of 
Charles Fletcher, of Waupun; Horatio, who is farming in Hustisford; Me- 
lissa, the wife of Arthur Salisbury, a lumber and coal dealer of Rosendale, 
Fond du Lac county; Alpheus F., our subject; Hadley, who is residing on the 
old homestead in Hustisford township; Mary, the wife of William Jones, 
of Juneau; and Frank, deceased. 

Alpheus F. Ryder was reared on the farm where he was born, acquiring 
his education in the schools of Hustisford. In common with other farmer 
lads his energies were early directed along agricultural lines, and long before 
he had attained his maturity he was thoroughly familiar with the practical 
methods of tilling the fields and caring for the crops. He remained at home 
until he was twenty-four years of age, and then started out for himself. In 
t886, he purchased two hundred acres of land in Oak Grove township, a mile 
east of Juneau and adjoining the county farm. He could only make a very 
small payment on the place, burdening it with a heavy mortgage, but as he 
was a capable agriculturist and a good manager the encumbrance was rapidly 
decreased and he soon held a clear title to his land. He assiduously applied 
himself to the further improvement and cultivation of this property for six 
and a half years. At the expiration of that time he removed to Juneau, and 
here, since 1893, he has been engaged in buying and shipping live stock, his 
principal market being Chicago. He has prospered in this venture and is one 
of the foremost men in this line of business in the town. He still owns and 
operates his farm and is also manager and salesman of the Juneau Butter & 



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60 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Cheese Company, meeting with creditable success in both occupations. Soon 
after removing to town, Mr. Ryder bought some lots in one of the choice 
resident sections, which he has since improved by the erection of one of the 
most attractive houses in the community. 

On the 20th of April, 1886, Mr. Ryder was united in marriage to Miss 
Eleanor Jones, who was born in Hustisford township, on the 23d of October, 
1865. She is a daughter of Seneca B. and Eliza (Baker) Jones, well known 
pioneers of this county. The father was born in the state of New York, 
August 20, 1838, and the mother is a native of Cornwall, England, her birth 
occurring on the nth of January, 1843. For many years Mr. Jones was en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, but he is now devoting his attention almost 
entirely to stock-raising, and is one of the most extensive breeders of Holstein 
cattle in the state.. He is one of the substantial and progressive citizens of 
Hustis.ford township, and is interested in several of its thriving local enter- 
prises. He is a director in the Hustisford State Bank, and is also a stockholder 
in the Hustisford Township Telephone Company, and the General Merchandise 
Company. 

Mr. and Mrs. .Ryder affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church, and his 
political support is accorded the republican party. He is public-spirited and 
has been a constructive factor in the town's development, not only through 
his capable and efficient manner of directing his business, but by actively co- 
operating in the promotion of its various progressive movements. He has 
worked zealously to promote the formation of the company organized to put 
through the Milwaukee Western Electric Railway, running from Juneau to 
the former city, and is now a director of the company. Mr. Ryder has always 
worked hard, applying himself closely to his business, in the development of 
which he has used much foresight and clear judgment, and such success as 
has come to him is well deserved and highly merited. 



Arthur W. Lueck, a member of the bar of Beaver Dam, who for five years 
has engaged in practice, brought to the outset of his professional career thor- 
ough preparatory training in the University of Wisconsin, and is now accorded 
a clientage that many an older practitioner might well envy. Mr. Lueck is yet 
a young man, his birth having occurred in Juneau on the 19th of July, 1885. His 
father, F. W. Lueck, was born in Germany and many years ago came to Dodge 
county. He is a shoemaker by trade and is an industrious, reliable man. For 
forty years he has lived in Juneau, where he is widely and favorably known. 
His services as a brave and loyal defender of the Union during the dark days of 
the Civil war entitle him to his country's gratitude and led to his becoming a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His political allegiance is given 
to the democratic party. In this county he married Miss Wilhelmina Schaucr, 
and unto them were born four sons and a daughter, namely : William, who died 
in infancy; Martin L., who is now circuit judge upon the bench at Juneau; Clara 
M., at home; Robert W., who is practicing law at Watertown, Wisconsin; and 



ARTHUR W. LUECK. 



Arthur W. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



61 



The last named pursued his early education in the schools of his native city 
while spending his youthful days under the parental roof. Attracted to a profes- 
sional career, he determined to make the practice of law his life work and with 
that end in view entered the university at Madison, being graduated from the 
law department with the class of 1907. On the 26th of June of the same year 
he came to Beaver Dam and opened an office. Here he has since remained and 
has made steady progress in his profession, never failing to give his cases thor- 
ough preparation, while in their presentation before court and jury he is force- 
ful, logical and convincing. He has been associated in practice with Congress- 
man M. E. Burke, but it is individual effort and ability that win success at the 
bar and through his own well developed powers Mr. Lueck has gained his pres- 
ent creditable position as a lawyer. 

On the 20th of August, 1908, Mr. Lueck was married to Miss Wanda Krue- 
ger, of Watertown, Wisconsin, and they have one son, William O. Mr. Lueck 
votes with the democratic party and keeps well informed on the questions and 
issues of the day, but does not seek nor desire office. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Woodmen of 
the World, and in those associations finds pleasant companionship. His friends, 
however, are by no means limited to the membership of those orders for he 
is well known in this part of the state and wherever known is held in high esteem. 



J. I. MARQUART. 

J. I. Marquart is a well known and successful representative of business 
interests in Beaver Dam as the president and treasurer of the Beaver Dam Bot- 
tling Company, which he established in 1904. His birth occurred in 1877, his 
parents being John and Fredericka Marquart, both natives of Germany. The 
father made his way to Wisconsin in 1840, settling in Green Lake county, where 
he followed agricultural pursuits throughout his active life. For the past two 
decades he has lived in honorable retirement. Mr. and Mrs. John Marquart 
were married in 1859 and reared the following children: Ella, Emma, August, 
Henry, William, John, J. I., Sarah and Alice. 

J. I. Marquart attended the public schools of Green Lake county until sev- 
enteen years of age and then turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, 
being engaged in farming until 1898. The next six years were spent at Mark- 
esan, Green I^ake county, and in 1904 he established the firm of Marquart & 
Matthews, which three years later was incorporated for fifteen thousand dollars, 
under the name of the Beaver Dam Bottling Company. Its officers are as fol- 
lows: J. I. Marquart, president and treasurer; and Edward L. Arndt, secretary 
and vice president. They have built up and now conduct an extensive business 
as general bottlers and manufacturers of soft drinks, sodas, etc. The present 
building of the concern, which is fully equipped with all modern machinery, 
was erected in 1909, is two stories high and covers fifty by thirty-two feet. 
As the head of the company Mr. Marquart has displayed high executive ability 
and sound judgment and has won a place among the leading and representa- 
tive business men of his community. 



62 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



In 1907 Mr. Marquart was united in marriage to Miss Belle Ridings, a 
daughter of Joseph Ridings, of Beaver Dam. In politics he is a republican. 
Mr. Marquart's fraternal associations are with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and the Eagles. He has ever believed that integrity and straightfor- 
ward dealing go hand in hand with success and his own life record is a veri- 
fication of this belief. 



James E. Malone, a member of the Beaver Dam bar and not unknown in 
democratic circles in this state, has through continuously broadening experience 
and study become qualified for the more important work of the practitioner and 
has been connected with considerable notable litigation of this state. Beaver 
Dam is his native city and the day of his birth was November 7, 1853. His 
parents, John and Mary (McCabe) Malone, were natives of Ireland and for a 
time lived in Franklin county. New York, but came to Beaver Dam in 1851. 
The father, a native of County Clare, Ireland, was sixteen years of age when, 
about 1844, in company with his mother, two brothers and seven sisters, he ar- 
rived in the United States, landing at Quebec, whence he made his way to Frank- 
lin county, New York, where he remained until a year after his marriage. Fol- 
lowing his removal westward to Dodge county he worked at Highland Prairie 
for a year and then embarked in business on his own account as proprietor of a 
grocery store at Beaver Dam, but his stock was destroyed in the great fire which 
occurred in this city. He afterward established a brick yard which he conducted 
until 1872, and then turned his attention to farming, which he followed for a 
few years. He afterward conducted an auction store in Beaver Dam but later 
lived retired until his death, which occurred in 1903. His widow survived him 
for about three years, passing away in 1906. He was ever a man of genial spirit, 
doing many good deeds not only to those who were bound to him by family ties 
but to others as well. He served in several official positions in Beaver Dam. in- 
cluding that of street commissioner and deputy sheriff. The religious faith of 
himself and family was that of the Catholic church. While a resident of the 
Empire state he was married to Mary McCabe. a daughter of James McCabe. 
of County Cavan, Ireland, who brought his family to the United States about 
1837 and settled in Franklin county, New York. It was in March, 1850, that 
his daughter gave her hand in marriage in New York state, to John Malone. 
and they became the parents of eleven children : Ellen, now deceased ; James E. ; 
Anna Marie, the wife of Patrick Austin, of Michigan; John J., who has also 
passed away; Patrick Henry, of Beaver Dam; Catherine, the wife of Henry 
McCaffery, also of Beaver Dam; George, of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Rose, the wife 
of John Gorman, of Beaver Dam; W. D., a Catholic priest of Kenosha; Michael 
A., who is living in Missoula, Montana; and Mary, the wife of John Bassfield, 
of Minnesota. 

In the schools of his native city James E. Malone pursued his early educa- 
tion and afterward attended St. Francis seminary at Milwaukee, later continu- 
ing his studies in Wayland (Beaver Dam) Academy. Desiring to make the prac- 



JAMES E. MALONE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



63 



tice of law his life work he began reading in the office and under the direction 
of Judge Edward Elwell, of this city, and was admitted to the bar in September, 
1877. He then opened an office in Beaver Dam, but after practicing for a year 
was elected clerk of the circuit court and removed to Juneau, on the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1879. He rilled that position most acceptably for six years and later was 
elected district attorney, serving in that capacity for two years. He was then 
appointed registrar of the land office at Perry, Oklahoma, in which position he 
served in 1893-94. He afterward practiced law in Juneau until 191 1, when he 
returned to Beaver Dam, where he is now following his profession, being ac- 
corded a clientage that at once establishes his reputation as a leading and able 
lawyer. Aside from the office which he has held in the strict path of his pro- 
fession he has done other important public service. Governor Peck appointed 
him as a commissioner to divide the counties of Ashland and Iron and on many 
important questions he has been consulted by prominent party leaders. His po- 
sition is furthermore indicated by the fact that he was made a delegate to the 
democratic national conventions of 1892, 1896 and 1900. 

On the 1st of June, 1881, Mr. Malone was married to Miss Mary Burke, 
of Watertown, Wisconsin, a daughter of Jeremiah and Bridget Burke, who were 
natives of Limerick, Ireland, and came to the United States in early life. Mr. 
and Mrs. Malone have a family of six children: Mary Patricia, who is in the 
office of her father; Rachel Isabel!, a teacher in Milwaukee; James F., who was 
graduated from the University of Wisconsin in June, 191 1, and is now practicing 
law with his father; Madeline A., who is attending school in Chicago; Donald, 
also in school; and Genevieve, at home. Mr. Malone and his family are mem- 
bers of St. Patrick's Catholic church and he holds membership with the Knights 
of Columbus, the Catholic Knights and the Catholic Foresters. He is also con- 
nected with the Knights of Pythias. His memory goes back to the period when 
there were many Indians in this part of the state and when great stretches of 
forest stood in their primeval strength. He has lived to witness almost the 
entire growth and development of this region and his influence and aid have al- 
ways been given on the side of progress and improvement. At the same time 
his official and professional duties have been in no wise neglected, his devotion to 
both having become proverbial. 



OTTO F. ILLING. 

Otto F. Illing has for twenty-three years been a resident of Juneau, where 
until recently he has been engaged in the manufacture of cigars. His birth oc- 
curred at Jefferson, Wisconsin, on the 10th of June, 1863, and he is a son of 
Charles and Lenora (Scidlcr) Illing. The parents were both born in Bavaria, 
Germany, in 1841, the mother's natal day being October 28. When a child of 
five years. Charles Illing came to America with his parents, who first settled in 
Buffalo, New York. From there they went to Milwaukee, this state, and later 
they located in Jefferson, where he subsequently learned the tinner's trade, was 
married and has ever since made his home. Of the three children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Illing. the son Otto F., is the eldest. Their only daughter, Ida, the 



64 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



widow of Enos Seitz, is residing in Jefferson, while Frank, the youngest member 
of the family, is deceased. The father was actively engaged in business for 
many years, thus accumulating sufficient means to enable him to spend his latter 
years in retirement. 

The education of Otto F. Uling was acquired in the public schools of his 
native city. Upon the completion of his course of study he learned the tinner's 
trade from his father, remaining at home until he had attained his majority. 
He followed his trade in Jefferson for two years and then engaged in the manu- 
facture of cigars in the same place. In 1889, he came to Juneau and established 
a cigar factory, which he operated until April, 1912, when he became identified 
with other activities. 

At Jefferson, this state, on the 22d of February, 1887, Mr. Illing was mar- 
ried to Miss Anna Spangler, whose birth there occurred on the 10th of March, 
1865. She is a daughter of Michael and Anna (Hummel) Spangler, natives of 
Bavaria, Germany. The father was a farmer. Mrs. Illing, who is the eighth 
in order of birth in a family of nine, has but a vague recollection of her parents, 
both of whom passed away during her early childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Illing 
have one daughter, Ida Eva, who is living at home. She was born in Juneau. 

Although he is not affiliated with any religious denomination, Mr. Illing 
attends the Roman Catholic church. Politically he supports the democratic party 
and is now serving his second term as city clerk. He is now deputy clerk 
of the court and he was city assessor for one term, creditably discharging the 
duties of both offices. 



Carl Firehammer was until recently the owner and active manager of a large 
lumberyard and planing mill in Horicon, Wisconsin, and was also active in the 
building and contracting business, a natural evolution of his first small carpen- 
tering enterprise. In 191 2 he disposed of his business to his son William and 
retired from active labors, although the business is still conducted under the firm 
name of C. Firehammer & Sons, as it has been for over twenty years. He is in 
all essential respects a self-made man and the earnest and straightforward struc- 
ture of his life reflects credit upon the builder. He was born in Dabercow, in 
the province of Pommern, Germany, on May 23, 184 1, and is a son of John 
and Lottie (Schultz) Firehammer, both of whom were born in that section, the 
father in 1810 and the mother in 1821. John Firehammer was a blacksmith 
by trade and left his native country in 1854 coming to Dodge county, Wisconsin, 
on January 1, 1855. He located on a farm in Herman township which was at 
that time partly improved. He built a shop upon his land and engaged for sev- 
eral years in general farming and blacksmithing. At the end of that time he 
sold his holdings and moved to Fond du Lac county where he followed agricul- 
tural pursuits until his death which occurred when he was fifty-nine years old. 
Before he left his native country he had completed his term of service in the 
German army. His wife passed away in Fond du Lac county when she was 
eighty-five years old. 



CARL FIREHAMMER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



65 



Carl Firehammer received his education in the public schools of Germany 
and came to America with his parents when he was thirteen years of age. He 
aided his father in the work of the farm and was, until he was eighteen, engaged 
in sawmilling when he could. He worked his way up in this occupation until 
he was the head sawyer in a mill in Herman township where he remained for 
three seasons. He then removed to the vicinity of Wausau where he operated 
a mill of the same character and also engaged in millwright work. In 1868 he 
established his residence in Horicon and has since been a resident of that city. 
He began carpentering first working by the day and for a number of years was 
active in this branch of labor. He saved his money and was able at length to 
build a shop where he carried on general carpenter and repair work and eventually 
branched out into the building of new structures. He sometimes employed at 
this time from three to four men and his enterprise grew and expanded rapidly. 
During the winters he worked for the Van Brunt Company in their plant. He 
continued adding to the various departments of his business and pursued a con- 
stant policy of conservative expansion. In connection with carpenter work he 
operated a small circular saw table, which was then the most modem thing of 
the kind. In 1890 he installed a twenty horse-power steam engine which he used 
for operating his machinery for planing and sawing until 1907. In that year 
his business had grown so materially that he was justified in erecting a modern 
plant for the housing of his machinery and lumber. In the same year, however, 
the structure was destroyed by fire and he suffered a considerable loss. He, 
however, immediately rebuilt and the plant is now the only modern and thor- 
oughly equipped enterprise of its kind in HOricon. It occupies a space of four 
city lots and is an example of modern business architecture. Mr. Firehammer 
carried an extensive stock of lumber and equipments and dealt also in coal, 
wood and cement. Besides this he added to his activities a contracting and build- 
ing department which formed an important source of his income. He is not 
only an expert in the mechanical and technical details of the business but is a 
shrewd business man with a comprehensive grasp of modern conditions and of 
the economic phases which influence them. His ability along this line is coupled 
with an honesty that is unquestioned and a sincerity of purpose which is beyond 
all doubt and these qualities were the foundation of his success. In 1912 Mr. 
Firehammer disposed of his business to his son William, and lives now retired 
from active business cares. 

On December 2, 1867, Mr. Firehammer was united in marriage to Miss Caro- 
line Franke, a native of Altruetnitz, in the province of Brandenburg, Germany, 
where her birth occurred on April 4, 1848. She is a daughter of Louis and 
Louisa (Lange) Franke, who came to America about 1855, settling in Dodge 
county just south of Hustisford on a farm. The father devoted the principal 
part of his life to agricultural pursuits, but during the last years lived retired 
in Horicon. He died, however, in Warren, Illinois, where he had gone to make 
his home with his oldest son. His wife passed away some years previously. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Firehammer have been born nine children: Edward, who is 
a carpenter and builder in Horicon ; William, who purchased his father's busi- 
ness; Helena, the wife of Ernest Marquardt, who is identified with the business 
established by our subject; George, who is carrying on a general merchandise 
business in Bridgeman, Michigan; Herman, who died at the age of fourteen 



66 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



years; Carl, who met his death by drowning in his thirteenth year; Tillie, who 
lives at home ; Arthur, who is a clerk in his father's office in Horicon ; and Paul, 
who is a member of the United States navy holding a position as electrician. 

In his political views Mr. Firehammer is consistently republican and served 
for five years with great ability as member of the Horicon village board and 
later of the city council in which he did four years' service. He has built up 
within the community a modern, prosperous and important enterprise, which is 
a valuable private and public asset, although he holds his success secondary to 
the principles and straightforward methods by which it has been attained. 



Emil W. Simon is a master machinist and has done expert technical work 
along this line. He is now general superintendent of the Van Brunt Company 
in their machine works at Horicon and in this broader field of activity has dis- 
played business sagacity and a power of organization and control. He was 
born in Zahden, province of Brandenburg, Germany, August 4, 1872, and is a 
son of William and Louisa (Hochschildt) Simon. His father was in his early 
years a stone mason and he followed that occupation in Germany until the spring 
of 1873, at which time he came to America and located in Horicon. He con- 
tinued at his chosen occupation in the summer and during the winter season 
worked at the Van Brunt factory. He continued to be active in both these lines 
until his retirement. He is still residing in Horicon, his wife having passed 
away in 1898. 

Emil Simon is the sixth in a family of seven children born to his parents. 
He was educated in the Horicon public schools and has been a resident of that 
village from his early childhood. By the time he was eighteen years of age he 
had practically learned the machinist's trade and obtained employment in the 
plant of the Van Brunt Company. He has been in the service of this firm con- 
tinuously since that time with the exception of thirteen months which time he 
spent as an employe of the Allis-Chalmers Company in Milwaukee, in 1897. Mr. 
Simon is a man who gets results. His promotion has been rapid but is well 
deserved and based on merit. He was in 1898 advanced to the position of fore- 
man over the machine department and after seven years of conspicuously able 
work in this capacity was placed in charge of the entire factory and is now 
general superintendent. His faculty for materializing his ambitions has re- 
dounded not only in his own prosperity but to the advantage of the company 
which employs him. He has an expert knowledge of the details of the occupa- 
tion with which he is connected and a power in managing men. He has gained suc- 
cess during the years which he has been superintendent and his prosperity is the 
natural result of his efficiency. 

On November 24. 1897, Mr. Simon was united in marriage to Miss Kath- 
arine Frie, who was born in Cambria, Columbia county, March y. 1875. She 
is a daughter of Ferdinand and Augusta (Laper) Frie, natives of Germany, who 
came to America in 1855. Their marriage occurred in this-countrv and the father 
followed his occupation of shoemaker for some years at Ripon. Wisconsin, and 



EMIL W. SIMON. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



67 



later at Kingston, removing from that city to Cambria. He later fanned in 
Columbia county and after some time removed to Fairwater where he and his 
wife are now residing. To Mr. and Mrs. Simon have been born four children: 
Merlin William, born April 30, 1899; Esther Henrietta, whose birth occurred on 
the 5th of April, 1902; Florence Margaret, born August 28, 1905; and Harold, 
whose birth occurred on the 7th of April, 1912. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Simon is republican and has served as a mem- 
ber of the city council for four years and as deputy sheriff for two years. He 
is prominent in the Masonic order and active in the affairs of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, of which organization he is at the present time, clerk. He has 
proved his ability by handling affairs with which he is entrusted and has stood 
excellently the hard test of responsibility. He works conscientiously and sin- 
cerely in the promotion of his employers' interests, making them one with his 
own. 



JOSEPH EDGAR SAWYER. 

J. Edgar Sawyer is one of the oldest native sons of Dodge county, Wiscon- 
sin, and was born on January 13, 1848, in the first log house ever built on Rolling 
Prairie, in what is now Burnett township, section 32. He is a son of Lewis and 
Sarah (Sandborn) Sawyer, the former of whom was born in Orford, New 
Hampshire, January 23, 1819, of English stock, settling in Massachusetts in 
1836, and the latter at Barnston, Canada, in 1821, her parents being natives of 
New England. The father in early life engaged in teaching and was also promi- 
nent as an agriculturist. He came west in 1841 and located at Watertown, where 
he worked at various occupations for a few months. He made the journey by 
stage to Albany and thence by canal and lake to Milwaukee. From Watertown 
he came to Hyland Prairie after a short period in the employ of Dennison & 
Cole. He received a salary of ten dollars per month, while his fellow laborers 
received eight dollars. He remained at Hyland Prairie with M. B. Hall, with 
whom he later took up a claim on the southwestern part of Burnett township. 
He afterward sold this property but in 1842 purchased land on section 32 and 
moved upon his holdings. He built the lug cabin in which the subject of this 
review was born and began the active cultivation of his farm. He was success- 
ful in general agricultural pursuits and was well known as a prosperous stock- 
raiser. He was in many ways a truly remarkable man. He was identified with 
the growth and upbuilding of Dodge county and was the first coroner of that 
section, holding this office in 1846. He conducted the first inquest ever held in 
Dodge county and served as justice of the peace for the Winnebago precinct in 
the same year. He was assessor several times and held many other responsible 
public offices. In 1865 he joined the Methodist Episcopal church but before this 
time had had no religious connections. He became a Mason in 1858, and was 
subsequently made a Royal Arch Mason, and all during his life kept up his inter- 
est in that organization. He was well educated for his times and a broad and 
intelligent reader. Impatient of shams and deceits he was very strong in Ins 
convictions of right and wrong. His wife died April 5. 1854. leaving two chil- 



68 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



dren : Francis L. k who went to California in 1893 on account of failing health and 
who died at Westmoreland in that state, December 27, 1910; and Joseph Edgar, 
the subject of this sketch. In December, 1854, the father of our subject was 
again married. His second wife was Miss Hannah Wilson and to this union 
was born one child, who passed away at the age of two years. The second 
Mrs. Sawyer died in Horicon in 1906, at the home of J. Edgar Sawyer. 

J. Edgar Sawyer was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and re- 
mained at home until his marriage. At that time he built a house upon a por- 
tion of his father's farm, which then comprised four hundred acres. He pur- 
chased eighty acres of land and continued to reside upon it until 1887. He 
had met with an unfortunate accident in the previous year, having fallen from 
a hayfork and dislocated his spine. He was obliged to change his occupation 
and in 1887 went to Hartford in order to join his cousin, Judge Sawyer, in the 
law business. He was one of the prominent practitioners in Hartford until 
the spring of 1890, when he moved his office to Horicon and followed his pro- 
fession here for one year. Legal success requires an acute mind, a systematic 
and accurate knowledge and a fearlessness of conviction. All of these qualities 
Mr. Sawyer possesses in an unusual degree and upon them he has founded his 
prosperity. He was a strong and able practitioner and during the years of his 
connection with the law gained well deserved prominence. In 1891 he abandoned 
his practice in order to engage in the newspaper business, in which he continued 
until 1897. Since that time he has served as justice of the peace and here his 
legal knowledge and the quality of his mind have won him rapid and continued 
prominence. During his term of service there have been numbers of cases 
appealed but in none has the verdict been reversed. 

On February 17, 1870, Mr. Sawyer was united in marriage to Miss Marie 
F.. Warner, who was born at Hazel Green, Wisconsin, May 4, 1850, and who is 
a daughter of Theodore and Elizabeth (Langley) Warner. The father was a 
native of New York state, having been born near the Pennsylvania line, and 
during his early years he was a school teacher. He later took up the trade of 
carpentering and after establishing his residence in Horicon was given a position 
as foreman in a sash and blind factory. His death occurred in Dodge county. 
His wife was a native of Indiana and died at Horicon in 1893. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Sawyer have been born two children, Ethelda Marie, who was born on 
January 4, 1871, and who is the wife of Fredcrique P. Bird, of Horicon, a 
traveling salesman in the employ of a large manufacturing plant at Erie. Penn- 
sylvania. Mrs. Bird became the mother of five children, Frederick Edgar, Sawyer 
Wylie, Bessie Marie, Gilbert and Ethelda Putnam, all of whom live at home. The 
other child born to Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer is Lewis Edgar, whose birth occurred on 
the nth of December, 1875, and who is a resident of Muskegon, Michigan, where 
he is a draftsman and artist. 

In his politics Mr. Sawyer is a democrat and has served as coroner of Dodge 
county and has been notary public for twenty-four years. He served for twenty- 
one years with ability and efficiency as city clerk and is now in the nineteenth 
year of his activity as justice of the peace. He is also deputy county surveyor 
and his political life is marked by the same energy, activity and broad-minded- 
ness which have distinguished his business and legal career. He is a prominent 
Mason, holding membership in the lodge, chapter and council. In his identifi- 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cation with this organization he is keeping up the traditions of his family, all 
the representatives of which have belonged to the Masonic order. Mr. Saw- 
yer is among the most estimable and prominent of the older generation in Hori- 
con. He is interested in the growth of his city and county and his energy and 
upright standards cause him to be regarded in Horicon as one of its most repre- 
sentative citizens, whose energies are always directed along constructively pro- 
gressive lines, and who in public life has constantly followed standards of high 
conscientiousness and ideals of personal service. 



WILLIAM FALKINHAM. 

William Falkinham who died in Horicon, February 14, 1910, was a native 
son of Dodge county and for many years one of the most substantial and enter- 
prising agriculturists in this section of the state. He gave the best and most 
forceful years of his life to promoting agricultural development in the county 
in which he was born, and was a loyal and public-spirited citizen whose personal 
prosperity was only an element in his broader attainment as a force in progress. 
He was born at Burnett Junction, October 4, 1855, a son °* Richard A. and 
Sophronia (Jewett) Falkinham, the former a native of Boston, Massachusetts, 
born October 10, 1813, and the latter born in New Hampshire, July 7 of the 
same year. The father followed the trade of cabinet-maker until 1840, when 
he came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in Burnett" Junction, where for six- 
teen years he cultivated the soil, meeting with a gratifying measure of success 
by reason of energy and well directed enterprise. In 1900 he retired and moved 
to Minnesota Junction for a few years and then returned to the farm where he 
died May 3, 19x29. He had long survived his wife, who passed away November 
18, 1856. 

William Falkinham was the youngest of a family of seven children. He 
received his primary education in the public schools of Stone's Corners and com- 
pleted his studies at the Horicon high school. When he was fifteen years of 
age he laid aside his books and began working upon neighboring farms, follow- 
ing this line of occupation until he went to the lumber camps in the northern 
woods. He married when he was twenty-one years of age and immediately 
afterward returned to Dodge county where he worked upon a farm belonging 
to his father. He lived and worked on this place for eight years. At the expi- 
ration of that period he went to Ingels, Michigan, and there became superin- 
tendent in a mill yard. For twelve years he held this position and then at his 
father's request came back to the farm, receiving a deed to one hundred acres 
of the property, and from that time until his retirement gave his best energies 
to its development and improvement. That he was successful is evidenced by 
the attractive condition to which he brought the farm and by the substantial 
income which he derived from its operation. On September 1, 1909, he dis- 
posed of his property and bought a comfortable residence and three city lots 
in Horicon, where he resided until his death. 

Mr. Falkinham married October 9, 1876, Miss Lorcta Corey, who was born 
in Hubbard township, June 17, 1857. She is a daughter of Hiram and Char- 



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lottc (Mace) Corey, the former born in Rutland, Vermont, September 20, 1833, 
and the latter in Sparta, New York, January 9. 1838. Their marriage occurred 
in Hubbard township in 1856, the father having come west when he was a 
young man. For many years before and after his marriage he was a charcoal 
burner but later engaged in farming and threshing, following both occupations 
until his retirement in 1911. He had invested extensively in Michigan land, own- 
ing two hundred acres of fine farming property in that state but never became 
a land owner in Dodge county. Since he abandoned active life he has resided 
in Stevenson township, Menominee county, Michigan. He was an honored vet- 
eran of the Civil war, having served for three years in Company D, Twenty- 
ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was present at many of the important 
engagements during the hostilities and was wounded in the hip but was never 
taken prisoner. With the exception of his three years' service he followed gen- 
eral farming during practically all his active life and became known as one of 
the individual factors in the agricultural growth of Dodge county. His wife 
died March 3, 1910. 

Mr. and Mrs. Falkinham had four children. Marion A., who was born July 
22, 1878, married Miss Nellie Keys, of Burnett Junction, and is employed as 
tester and repair man for the Van Brunt Company. Alfred L., who was born 
June 19, 1880, married Miss Anna Wolfgram, and is engaged in farming on 
the farm formerly owned by his grandfather. Eva C. S., whose birth occurred 
April 30, 1882, is the widow of William Sutherland, of Burnett Junction, by 
whom she had one child, Melody, born September 27, 1906. Mr. Sutherland 
was engaged in farming until his death which occurred July II, 1909. Mrs. 
Sutherland is residing with her mother. May, the youngest member of the 
family, was born June 7, 1885, and resides with her mother. 

Mr. Falkinham gave his allegiance to the republican party but never sought 
political office. He was well known in the affairs of the Woodmen of America 
and was a prominent member of the Knights of the Maccabees, becoming iden- 
tified with that organization while a resident of Michigan. He was regarded as 
one of the most deservedly prosperous farmers in this section of Wisconsin and 
his death deprived Dodge county of a native son whose industry and ability had 
made him successful in business and highly respected among his fellow citizens. 



Dr. H. J. S. Anderson, successfully engaged in the practice of veterinary 
surgery at Beaver Dam, was born in London, England, November 2, 1874, a son 
of David W. and Annie (Snelgrove) Anderson and a brother of C. J. Ander- 
son of the British navy, who is an artificer and engineer. 

H. J. S. Anderson pursued his education in his native country, attending 
St. Margaret's school. For a year he was out of school but afterward spent 
another year at the Archbishop Tennyson school, after which he made his in- 
itial step in the business world, serving a four years' apprenticeship to an Eng- 
lish veterinarian. He afterward took up the study of veterinary surgery in 
Edinburgh, Scotland, and there remained in active practice until he came to 



H. J. S. ANDERSON. D. V. S. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



71 



America in 1896. He began practice in this country as assistant to Dr. C. C. 
Taylor of Milwaukee, remaining with him until September, when he removed 
to the west. He followed various occupations in Arizona, New Mexico and 
Colorado but afterward again came to the east and located at Fox Lake, Wis- 
consin, where he remained for about a year. He then opened an office in 
Beaver Dam and entered into partnership with the late Dr. J. L. Scott. At 
length he bought out his partner's interest and has continued alone in practice, 
receiving a liberal share of the public support. 

In October, 1904, Dr. Anderson was married to Miss M. R. Lander, a 
granddaughter of the late Judge H. W. Lander of Beaver Dam and a sister of 
Florence W. Lander, now the wife of Amos G. Baker. Unto Dr. and Mrs. 
Anderson has been born a daughter, J. Anderson, whose birth occurred January 
29, 1906, and who is now in school. The parents are well known socially in 
Beaver Dam, where they have made many friends during the period of their 
residence here, while the Doctor has become well established professionally, 
being accorded a liberal and well merited patronage. 



JOHN C. HEALY. 

The legal profession in Beaver Dam finds a worthy representative in John 
C. Healy, who since admitted to practice has made constant progress at the bar, 
his knowledge of the law and the correct application thereof being evidenced 
in his successful conduct of his cases. Beaver Dam numbers him among her 
native sons. His parents, John and Jane (Cassidy) Healy, natives of Ireland, 
came to Beaver Dam in 1856 and were married here in 1865. The father fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming and continued a resident of Dodge county until 
his death in 1903. He is still survived by his widow who is a communicant of 
St. Patrick's Catholic church, of which Mr. Healy was also a member. His 
political allegiance was given to the democratic party and he aided in guiding 
the affairs of his city as a member of the council for two terms. Unto him and 
his wife were born four children, of whom John C. is the eldest. The second, 
James T. Healy, born in Beaver Dam, is a graduate of the high school and also 
of the State University at Madison with the class of 1896. For eight years he 
engaged successfully in teaching as principal of the Milton Junction high school 
and in 1904, having pursued a thorough course of law, was admitted to the bar. 
Since that time or for a period of eight years he has successfully engaged in the 
practice of law in Beaver Dam. He carefully and systematically prepares his 
cases and presents his evidence in a clear, logical manner, applying considerately 
the principles of law. He has served also as school commissioner. Rosa, the 
third member of the family, died at the age of fifteen years. Michael, the 
youngest, is still living in Beaver Dam. 

John C. Healy attended the high school of this city and was graduated from 
the University of Wisconsin in 1892, with the degree of LL. B. He too, success- 
fully taught for a period, being for eight years connected with the Pionono 
College of Milwaukee as a teacher in the department of science. After reading 
law he was admitted to the bar in 1898 and in 1900 began practice in Beaver 



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Dam, where he has since remained, being associated with his brother James T., 
since 1904. His work in this connection has been successful and he is justly 
accounted one of the leading lawyers of his native city. The cause of education 
has found in him a warm friend and for two years, from 1902 until 1904, he 
served as superintendent of schools. He is city attorney at the present time, 
having filled the position continuously since 1908. His fraternal relations are 
with the Knights of Columbus. He is justly accounted one of the representative 
residents of Beaver Dam and has a circle of warm friends in this city, being 
most highly esteemed where best known. 



The Spring Brook stock farm, comprising two hundred and thirty acres ot 
well improved land, is located on sections 6, 2 and it, Shields township, and in 
its equipment fully meets every requirement for a model agricultural enterprise. 
Its owner, Frank F. Plasil, is known throughout Dodge county as an excep- 
tionally able farmer and stock-raiser, progressive in his methods and exacting 
in his standards, and he has won a distinct and substantial success, which places 
him in the front rank of prosperous agriculturists. A -native of Dodge county 
and a son of one of its most prominent pioneers, Mr. Plasil was born in Shields 
township, on his present farm, December 4, 1868. His father, Joseph Plasil, 
was a native of Bohemia and grew to manhood in that country. After he had 
attained his majority he was attracted by the opportunities which America offered 
and crossed the Atlantic to Maryland, settling in that state in 1861. In Bohemia 
Mr. Plasil had learned the carpenter's trade and had worked at it for some 
time, but he abandoned it in Maryland to engage in teaming, acting in the service 
of the Federal government during the Civil war. In 1863 he pushed westward 
to Wisconsin and settled in Watertown, where he worked at his trade and at 
anything else which would bring him an income. By economy and hard work 
he saved out of his earnings enough money to purchase forty acres of land, 
which forms a part of the present homestead. He located upon this property 
and cleared the timber from a small portion, upon which he built a log cabin, 
in which he resided while carrying forward the work of development. As his 
financial resources grew and his harvests increased he bought more land, adding 
to his holdings from time to time until he owned two hundred and ten acres. 
Upon this property he erected a fine modern house to replace his original cabin, 
built barns, granaries and silos and in every way possible added to the excellent 
condition of the farm. A large portion of it he planted in fruit trees and upon 
the remainder carried on general agricultural pursuits, gaining added prosperity 
and success with every year. He passed away when he was seventy-three years 
of age, and his death was widely regretted in the section to which he came as a 
pioneer and where his sterling qualities of mind and character had endeared 
him to a large circle of friends. His wife survives him and makes her home 
with her son, the subject of this review. She has reached the age of seventy-six. 

Frank F. Plasil is one of a family of two children. His elder brother, 
Joseph ]., is a successful and prominent farmer in Dodge county. Mr. Plasil 



FRANK F. PLASIL. 




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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



75 



of this review was reared upon the family homestead and from an early age 
was identified with the arduous labor of clearing timber and grubbing up stumps. 
He received his primary education in the public schools of his district and sup- 
plemented this by a course in the Watertown high school. After his father's 
death he succeeded to a portion of the home farm, which included the family 
residence, and he purchased more land and steadily carried forward the work 
of improvement and development. Nothing in the way of modern equipment 
is lacking upon the property and the excellent improvements which Mr. Plasil 
has made are all of a substantial and lasting kind. His residence is one of the 
finest in Dodge county and fitted with all modern conveniences and accessories. 
It is heated by hot water, has hot and cold water in the bathroom and other 
parts of the house, and the light is furnished by gasoline. All the other build- 
ings upon the property are of the same modern and substantial kind. Upon 
this property Mr. Plasil does general farming, specializing in the raising of 
high-grade Holstein cattle. In addition to this he has for some years been en- 
gaged in the dairy business, his dairy products commanding a ready sale and a 
high price on the market. He was one of the promoters and is the president 
of the Liberty Cheese & Butter Association and has other important business 
interests. 

Mr. Plasil married, in St. Henry's church in Watertown, in October, 1905, 
Miss Alice Rhobsky, who was born and educated in Shields township. She is a 
daughter of Wenzel Rhobsky, who resides in Watertown. Mr. and Mrs. Plasil 
have four children, Francis, Alta, William and Joseph. The family are devout 
adherents of the Roman Catholic church and regular attendants at St. Joseph's 
church in Rich wood. 

Mr. Plasil gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is a stanch sup- 
porter of the principles and policies for which the party stands, although his 
public spirit never takes the form of office seeking. He has won a creditable 
position in farming circles of Dodge county. His steady work, his well tried 
integrity and his progressive business methods have won their natural reward 
and he is respected and esteemed wherever he is known. 



THEODORE P. HEMMY. 

A worthy representative of the banking interests of Juneau is Theodore P. 

Hemmy, one of the founders of the Citizens Bank, in which institution he has 

held the office of cashier ever since its organization. His birth occurred in 

Watertown, this state, on the 20th of April, 1862, his parents being Christian 

and Georgiana ( Schnekcnburger) Hemmy. He is of German extraction in both 

lines as the names suggest, the father having been born in Switzerland, his natal 

day being in January, 1840, and the mother in Germany, in April, 1836. In his 

youth Christian Hemmy learned the trade of harness making, which vocation he 

followed for about fifteen years. During the childhood of his son he removed 

with his family to Beaver Dam, this county, and there he subsequently became 

identified with political activities. In 1874, he was elected register of deeds of 

Dodge county, and as he was an efficient and capable official was twice honored 
vol n-» 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



with reelection. Upon the expiration of his term he returned to Beaver Dam, 
where he served as city clerk until his death in 1886. He was long survived by 
the mother, who passed away in April, 1909. They were both members of the 
Roman Catholic church. 

The education of Theodore P. Hemmy was begun in the Cathdlic parochial 
school in St. Peter's parish, Beaver Dam, and completed in St. Francis' normal 
school. At the age of eighteen years he was taken into his father's office as deputy 
register of deeds, and upon the expiration of the latter's period of service he 
was retained in the same capacity, discharging the duties of this position for 
twelve years. At the expiration of that period he identified himself with the 
real-estate and abstract interests of the city, but severed his connection with 
this business two years later in order to assume the duties of his present posi- 
tion. His wide acquaintance in the community and his thorough knowledge of 
the property interests as well as his familiarity with local business conditions 
generally well qualified him for the responsibilities of this office. A pleasing 
personality and genial nature have been the means of winning him a large circle 
of friends, and to this fact as well as his recognized business integrity and abil- 
ity can be attributed much of the bank's success. It is one of the conservative 
and well established financial institutions of the county, with a capital stock and 
surplus of forty thousand dollars. In addition to his duties in this connection, 
Mr. Hemmy is also secretary and treasurer of the Dodge County Title & Ab- 
stract Company. He is likewise president of the Standard Cigar Company and 
is extensively interested in the Oak Point Farms, which is devoted to the breed- 
ing and raising of high-grade registered Holstein-Friesian cattle. 

On the 28th of October, 1886, Mr. Hemmy was married to Miss Bessie Rich, 
whose birth occurred in Juneau on the 6th of September, 1865. She is a daugh- 
ter of Joel and Helen M. (Hart) Rich, well known pioneer settlers of this city. 
The father was a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Tompkins 
county, in 1824, and the mother was born at Albany, New York, her natal year 
being 1839. In 1842 when eighteen years of age, Joel Rich came to Dodge county 
and bought land from the government, a part of which is now inside the city 
limits of Juneau. He then returned to New York for two years, taking up his 
permanent residence at Juneau in 1844. He was instrumental in having the court 
house located at Juneau. Politically he was a democrat. He built the first house 
in Juneau and the first dam at Horicon. During the Civil war he was elected state 
senator. In 1873 he was appointed by Governor Taylor director of the state prison 
at Waupun and later received the appointment of deputy warden, filling that posi- 
tion for several years. Joel Rich was identified with the farming interests of Dodge 
county during practically all of his life here, but during a part of this time was 
also engaged in the lumber and contracting business. At the time of his death, 
which occurred in Juneau in July, 1906, he was living retired. He is survived 
by the mother, who continues to make her home in Juneau. One son has been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Hemmy, Arthur R., whose natal day was March 24, 1890. 
He resides at home and is directing his business career along the same lines as 
his father, being bookkeeper of the Citizens Bank, auditor of the Home Invest- 
ment Company and also secretary and treasurer of the Oak Point Farms. 

Mr. Hemmy is a member of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of 
America and he also belongs to the Knights of Columbus. In matters of religious 



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faith he is a Roman Catholic. His political views conform to the principles of 
the democratic party, on which ticket he has thrice been elected mayor of the 
city, discharging the duties of his office with the general efficiency which char- 
acterizes anything he undertakes. Mr. Hemmy is a man of sufficient versatility 
and mental grasp to retain the essential details of a variety of business interests 
and successfully direct their development, as is evidenced by the thriving con- 
dition of the enterprises with which he is identified. He earnestly applies him- 
self to anything he undertakes, with the firm resolution of making it a success, 
and as a result he creditably acquits himself in every capacity, and has acquired 
the reputation of being one of the substantial and capable business men of the 
community. 



FRANK BODDEN. 

Frank Hodden is prominent and well known in the lumber business at Hori- 
con, being secretary and treasurer of an important enterprise of this kind. He 
was born in Theresa, October 18, 1871, a son of Jacob and Gertrude (Schiefer) 
Bodden, natives of Cologne, Germany. They came to Dodge county in 1849 and 
in this section their marriage occurred. The father later took up government 
land in the northwest corner of Washington county and after clearing a part 
of his claim found that his farm was a part of another tract and abandoning 
his property, he went to Theresa where he cleared another farm and thereon 
resided until his death in February, 1889. He was well known in political circles 
of that district and for two terms served in the state legislature. He was also 
county treasurer and sheriff and chairman of the board of supervisors for several 
terms, discharging his public duties ably and conscientiously. His wife is resid- 
ing with her daughter in Oshkosh. 

Frank Bodden is the eighth in a family of thirteen children. He attended 
the first public schools in Juneau and later went to the district and parochial 
schools at Theresa, completing his education by a course in the Spencerian 
Business College at Milwaukee. He remained at home until the fall of 1889 
when he went to Milwaukee and in that city obtained employment with the 
Ruedeburg & Bodden Company, manufacturers of vinegar and compressed yeast. 
From 1890 until 1895 he retained this position and then on July 24 of the latter 
year, established himself in the lumber business at Horicon in partnership with 
his brother John. This association continued until the fall of 1906 when another 
brother, Henry, was taken into the business and the enterprise incorporated with 
Mr. Bodden as secretary and treasurer. The business has gradually expanded 
under his management and is now operating not only the home office but also a 
branch business at Burnett Junction. Mr. Bodden is well known in local com- 
mercial circles as a man of ability in the handling of important affairs and has 
made the enterprise of which he is the head, prosperous and rapidly expanding. 
He is interested in the growth and welfare of the section in which he has resided 
for many years and is active in important local enterprises, prominent among 
which is the Horicon Telephone Company of which he is president. He also 
holds the same office in the Wisconsin Retail Lumber Dealers Association. 



78 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On February 12, 1902, Mr. Bodden was united in marriage to Miss Carrie 
Wilcox, who was born in Oak Grove township. Mr. Bodden is a member of 
the Roman Catholic and Mrs. Bodden of the Presbyterian church. 

Mr. Bodden gives his allegiance to the democratic party and for six years 
did able work as clerk of the school board. He was a member of the board of 
aldermen for some time and for four years held the position of supervisor. He 
has always been well known in local political circles and although the offices 
which he held came to him entirely unsolicited, he proved himself in his discharge 
of their duties an able and conscientious public servant. 



JOHN FREEMAN. 

John Freeman was born in Milwaukee, October 19, 1848, and died in Horicon 
May 20, 1892. Thirty-five years of his life were spent in the latter city to which 
he came as a child and during his active years he was employed by the Van 
Brunt & Davis Company, one of the largest local industrial institutions. His 
interests, therefore, were closely identified with those of the city in which he 
resided and when he died his many friends in Horicon mourned a public-spirited 
and loyal citizen. His parents, John and Catharine (Crine) Freeman, were 
natives of County Sligo, Ireland, and were married in the land of Erin. The 
father was a tailor by trade and when he came to Milwaukee about 1846, he 
followed that occupation for some time. Later he went to Racine county and 
then came to Horicon, settling in this city in 1857. John Freeman, Sr., died in 
Horicon in 1902, having long survived his wife, who passed away in 1869. 

John Freeman was the oldest in a family of six children. He came to Hori- 
con with his parents when he was nine years of age and consequently most of 
his education was received in the public schools of the village. When he left 
high school at the age of sixteen he learned the iron-moulder's trade and when 
he had mastered the details of this occupation, entered the employ of the Van 
Brunt & Davis Company. In 1873 he was made foreman of the foundry, hold- 
that position until 1890, when he was obliged to retire on account of failing 
health. 

On November 10, 1874, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Susan Cody, who 
was born in Horicon, January 19, 1854, a daughter of Edward and Susanna 
(MacParland) Cody, the former a native of the city of Cork, Ireland, born in 
1823, and the latter of County Armagh, Ireland, born July 13, 1828. They came 
to America at different times and were married in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 
in 1846. The father engaged in the mercantile business in Seneca, New York, 
until 1853, when he came with his family to Horicon, where he bought govern- 
ment land just south of the city, and upon this property spent the remainder of 
his life. He died of typhoid fever in St. Mary's Hospital, Milwaukee, in 1861, 
while he was a member of the Federal army, and his wife resided upon the 
homestead until her death in 1904. To Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were born five 
children. John Martin was born in Horicon, where he is employed as a ma- 
chinist in the Van Brunt Company and is also a director of the Horicon City 
band. He married Miss Marie Hclscr, of St. Paul, Minnesota. Alice M. is a 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



79 



kindergarten teacher in the Horicon schools. She received her education in the 
Horicon high school and in the Milwaukee State Normal. Charles £. is en- 
gaged as a machinist in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. James P., who is employed 
as an accountant in Janesville, married Miss Marian Glass, of Green Bay. 
Robert, the youngest member of the family, is engaged as an express messenger 
at Milwaukee. 

Mr. Freeman was a devout adherent of the Roman Catholic church and 
active in the affairs of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He was a charter 
member of the branch of that organization which was founded at Juneau and 
was later a charter member of the Horicon branch. He was a consistent demo- 
crat and served with ability' and efficiency as a member of the village board, 
bringing to his official life the same energy and industry which made his business 
career successful. His death cut him off in the prime of his career when he 
was only forty- four years of age, yet he had won a reputation as an honest, 
straightforward and enterprising citizen, and he valued this as his greatest asset. 
He was one of those reliable, upright, and honorable men who lead quiet and 
useful lives and constitute the best portion of any community. 



CORNELIUS G. SCHWALBACH, M. D. 

Prominent among the members of the Juneau medical fraternity is Dr. Cor- 
nelius G. Schwalbach, who has been engaged in practice here for the past fifteen 
years. His birth occurred in Merton, Waukesha county, this state, on the nth 
of February, 1874, his parents being George and Theresa (Stuesser) Schwalbach. 
They were married in Washington county, Wisconsin, where the father was 
likewise born and reared. He was of German extraction, as was also the mother, 
and early devoted himself to mercantile pursuits, which he followed during the 
remainder of his active life. 

Upon the completion of his preliminary education, having resolved to became 
a physician, Dr. Schwalbach matriculated in the medical department of the 
Marquette University of this state. He was awarded the degree of M. D. on 
the 31st of March, 1897, and immediately thereafter came to Juneau and estab- 
lished an office. During the period of his residence here he has had ample 
opportunity to prove his efficiency both as a general practitioner and surgeon, 
and has been successful in building up a profitable practice. Constant study and 
the knowledge to be gathered from a large and varied professional experience 
have enabled him to make marked progress and he is now numbered among 
the representative physicians of the town. He is one of the fortunate individuals 
who in the choice of a life vocation happily alighted upon one for which he was 
by nature well adapted, possessing the pleasing personality, sympathy, keen men- 
tality and resourcefulness so essential to this profession. Dr. Schwalbach is a 
man of more than average capability, force and enterprise, and is now contem- 
plating the erection of a large sanitarium, which will be conducted along entirely 
original lines', and in acordance with ideas of treatment evolved through his 
personal experience and observation. Unlike the majority of the members of 
his profession, he is a keen man of business and is interested in various local 
enterprises. 



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At Rubicon, Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 24th of October, 1899, Dr. 
Schwalbach was married to Miss Amalia La Buwi, the youngest daughter of 
John and Johanna La Buwi. The father has for many years been identified with 
the mercantile interests of Rubicon, where he still engages in business. One 
daughter, Olivia, has been born to Dr. and Mrs. Schwalbach. 

The family are all members of the Roman Catholic church, and fraternally 
Dr. Schwalbach is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen 
of America, Catholic Knights and Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a 
democrat and stanchly indorses the principles and candidates of that party. 
Despite the exactions of his large private practice he has served for ten years as 
city physician, while for four he acted in the same' capacity for the county. Dr. 
Schwalbach owns a very attractive residence on Oak street and is one of the 
permanent citizens of the town who takes an active and helpful interest in pro- 
moting the development of the community. He is progressive yet practical in 
his ideas and is always ready to give his support and cooperation to every move- 
ment which he feels will advance the welfare of the majority and elevate the 
moral, social or intellectual status. 



H. F. KRUEGER. 

H. F. Krueger is prominent in commercial circles of Horicon and is recog- 
nized there as a business man who, by honorable and straightforward dealings, 
universal courtesy, and intelligence, has founded a successful and important 
enterprise. Mr. Krueger was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, March 26, 1857, 
and is a son of Henry and Eva (Nigg) Krueger, the former a native of Meck- 
lenburg, Germany, and the latter of Switzerland. The father was a baker by 
trade and followed this occupation in his native country until 1850, when he 
crossed the Atlantic locating in Watertown, where he operated a stage line 
between that city and Milwaukee and between Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. He 
continued in this occupation for about ten years but abandoned it in i860 in order 
to take up the moving business. He received contracts from the railroads around 
Watertown for moving elevators and was active in this occupation until 1881 
when he retired. He always made his home in Watertown where he lived until 
his death which occurred in 1892. His wife passed away in 1880. To their 
union were born four children : H. F., the subject of this review ; Henry, who is 
conducting a general merchandise and sporting goods store in Minneapolis; 
Augusta, the widow of Charles DeSoth, who was president of a system of banks 
at Albert Lea, Minnesota; and George, who passed away at the age of twelve 
years. 

H. F. Krueger was educated in the public schools of Watertown and at the 
age of fourteen began his career. He entered a large general store in Beaver 
Dam, where he clerked for ten years and gained a knowledge of modern business 
conditions and methods of operation. In 1881 he came to Horicon where he 
established himself in the general merchandise business and has maintained 
a continuous residence there since that time. During the thirty-one years of 
his activity he has built up a flourishing and successful enterprise conducted 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



81 



along modern and progressive lines. He has that claim to prominence in busi- 
ness circles of Horicon which lies in the able and intelligent management of a 
successful establishment and by making his enterprise in detail well ordered and 
systematic has made the whole an asset in his community. 

On October 22, 1896, Mr. Krueger was united in marriage to Miss Matilda 
E. Georgii, who was born in Rantoul, Wisconsin, on February 23, 1872, and 
who is a daughter of Rev. E. C. Georgii. To their union was born one child, 
Richard E., whose birth occurred on the 8th of June, 1903. 

Mr. Krueger gives his allegiance to the republican party and for twelve 
years was treasurer of the school board of Horicon, although he never seeks 
public office. He is prominent as a Mason, holding membership in the Wiscon- 
sin Consistory and the Mystic Shrine in Milwaukee, and also belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His store is one of the largest of its kind 
in Horicon and has a complete line of groceries and general merchandise. He 
devotes his entire time and attention to making his enterprise more flourishing 
and prosperous and by intelligent and able promotion of his own prosperity has 
been a factor in the general development of the community. 



J. D. HILLIER. 

J. D. Hillier, a well known dealer in monuments, is engaged in business 
at Beaver Dam as proprietor of a marble-cutting establishment. His birth oc- 
curred at Fox Lake, Dodge county, on the 2d of March, 1858, his parents being 
Isaac and Elizabeth (Stunton) Hillier. The father, whose natal day was January 
9, 1821, came to Wisconsin in 1845 assisted in building the prison at Wau- 
pun. He still conducts a grocery store at Fox Lake and is widely recognized 
as one of the substantial and esteemed citizens of that place. His political al- 
legiance is given to the democratic party, while his religious faith is that of the 
Catholic church. To him and his wife were born the following children: Mrs. 
Mary O'Connell, deceased; Lizzie, the wife of John Connor, of Chicago; J. D., 
of this review ; Sam I., living at Fox Lake ; William J., who is a resident of 
Bellingham, Washington; and Rosetta, of Fox Lake. 

J. D. Hillier attended the public schools of Fox Lake until fifteen years of 
age and then learned the marble business, with which he has been identified 
to the present time. He remained at Fox Lake until 1882 and in 1910 took over 
the business of Turner, Miller & Blumcnthal at Beaver Dam, where he has since 
conducted an independent establishment as a marble cutter and dealer in monu- 
ments. His efforts in this connection have been rewarded with success and 
the patronage accorded him is a tribute to his skill and ability in his chosen 
field of endeavor. 

In 1881 Mr. Hillier was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Casey, a daughter 
of William and Rebecca Casey, of Fox Lake. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. 
Hillier are as follows: Honora, whose demise occurred in New York; Ellen, liv- 
ing in Beaver Dam ; Dan ; Rebecca, who makes her home at Cottage Grove, Ore- 
gon; and John, who died in infancy. Our subject and his wife have two chil- 



82 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



dren: Minnie, who was born in 1882 and is the wife of C. A. Boothroyd; and 
Ira W., whose birth occurred in 1884. 

The democratic party finds in Mr. Hillier a stalwart advocate and on its 
ticket he was elected alderman on three different occasions. He belongs to the 
Fraternal Insurance Union. A genial and ' kindly disposition has won him 
many friends in the county where his entire life has been spent, and he has 
the regard and esteem of all with whom his business or social relations have 
brought him into contact. 



EPHRAIM BROWN NORTON. 

Ephraim Brown Norton came to this county almost two-thirds of a century 
ago and experienced all the vicissitudes of pioneer life in establishing a home and 
developing a farm. However, as the years passed he prospered, devoting his 
attention to the pursuits of general farming and dairying with excellent results. 
He is the owner of Evergreen Farm on section 25, Williamstown township, but 
is now living retired, spending the evening of life in well earned ease. His birth 
occurred near Warren, Ohio, in Bloomfield township, TrumbuW county, on the 
14th of July, 1826, his parents being George and Barbara (Baughman) Norton, 
both of whom were natives of Shenandoah county, Virginia. The father was 
born on the 31st of October, 1791, while the mother's natal day was July 10, 
1795. Jacob Norton, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
Alsace, France, and came to America prior to the Revolutionary war, fighting 
under Washington during that conflict. Prior to the outbreak of the War of 
1812 he removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, in company with his son, George 
Norton, who fought in an Ohio regiment in the second war with England. Jacob 
Norton passed away in Trumbull county about 1833. In that year George Nor- 
ton, the father of Ephraim B. Norton, removed to Bartholomew county, Indiana, 
and there maintained his residence until 1848, when he came to Wisconsin, here 
passing away on March 25, 1866. His wife was called to her final rest in the 
following year, on April 5, 1867. Unto them were born twelve children, six 
of whom grew to maturity, namely: George, Jr., whose demise occurred at 
Eugene, Oregon ; Ephraim Brown, of this review ; Clarissa, who died at the age 
of eighteen years; Sylvester, who is a resident of Elmore, Minnesota; William 
W.. who passed away at Oakesdale, Washington; and Joel B., who was killed 
as a soldier at Spanish Fort, Alabama. 

Ephraim B. Norton obtained his education in the public schools and was 
reared to manhood on his father's farm. In 1848, when twenty-two years of 
age, he came to this county with his father and started out as an agriculturist 
on his own account. His brother had located here the previous year and had 
purchased government land for himself and other members of the family. E. B. 
Norton first took up his abode on section 36, Williamstown township, but about 
1851 removed to section 25, where he has remained continuously since. He 
experienced all the hardships and privations of pioneer life and his first home 
was a log house of his own construction. In 1864 this was replaced by a 
colonial brick house, which he has since kept in excellent repair. It is surrounded 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



85 



by fine evergreen trees, and the place is known as Evergreen Farm. Through- 
out his active career Mr. Norton was busily engaged in farming and dairying, 
but he is now living retired and leaves the care of his property to his son. 

In 1850 Mr. Norton was united in marriage to Miss Anna Elizabeth Schmidt, 
who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, on the 6th of November, 1829, 
her parents being George and Anna E. (Thraum) Schmidt. Her father, like- 
wise a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, emigrated to the United States about 1848, 
and settled on section 18, Hubbard township, Dodge county, Wisconsin. He 
died there the same year and his wife passed away a week later. They had 
three children, of whom Mrs. Norton was the youngest. Unto our subject and 
his wife were born four children, as follows: Albert, who died in infancy; 
Adaline, the wife of Julius Lehman, of Theresa township; Clara, at home: and 
George, who wedded Miss Caroline Hirth and resides on the home farm. The 
wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 9th of October, 1908. 

Politically Mr. Norton is a stanch republican and his fellow townsmen, 
recognizing his worth and ability, have called htm to several positions of public 
trust. He has served in the capacity of school clerk and township assessor and 
has also acted as township supervisor for several terms. In religious faith he 
is a Universalist but attends the services of different churches. He has now 
passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey and can look back with pride 
upon an active, honorable and useful career. 



JUDGE CHRISTIAN ANDREW CHRISTIANSEN. 

Christian Andrew Christiansen, a practitioner at the Dodge county bar whose 
ability is evidenced in the fact that his fellow townsmen called him to serve 
upon the county bench and whose success is further manifest in the liberal 
and distinctively representative clientage accorded him, is a native of Denmark, 
having been born in Schleswig-Holstein, that section of the Danish kingdom 
which now belongs to Germany. His natal town was Flensburg and the date 
January 15, 1848. His parents were John Casper and Antonia Christiansen, 
who provided their son with liberal educational privileges. He pursued his 
studies in the schools of his native city and after attending both the Flensburg 
and Odense Colleges, entered the University of Copenhagen in 1866. There he 
pursued a six years' course and was graduated in 1872. Three years later he 
was admitted to the bar in that city and practiced his profession there continu- 
ously until 1884. 

Ere leaving his native land Judge Christiansen was married on the nth of 
May, 1877, to Miss Wilhelmina Gertrude Gjcndrup, a daughter of Frederick 
William Gjendrup and a native of Copenhagen. Two children were born unto 
them, Winnie M. and Johanna M., the former born June 21, 1878, and the 
latter on the 4th of May, 1880. 

With their little family Judge Christiansen and his wife sailed for the new 
world in January, 1884. They landed at New York and thence made their 
way westward to Wisconsin, arriving in this state on the 1st of March. Tak- 
ing up their abode in Juneau, Mr. Christiansen was admitted to the bar of Dodge 



86 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



county in September of that year and has since been actively engaged in the 
practice of his profession here. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his abil- 
ity, soon called him to public office and in 1887 and 1888 he filled the position of 
deputy county clerk. In 1889 he was made city clerk of Juneau and continued 
in that office for three years, his record as a city official being most creditable. 
In 1893 he was called to the bench and served thereon continuously from 1804 
until 1898, his judicial record being, in harmony with his record as a man and 
lawyer, characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty and a masterful grasp of 
the problems presented for solution. He has held other offices, having been 
enrolling clerk of the Wisconsin senate in 1889 and a member of the com- 
mission on public works for five years. His public duties have ever been dis- 
charged with a sense of conscientious obligation. In politics he is a stalwart 
republican, giving to the party unfaltering support since becoming a natural- 
ized American citizen. The twenty-eight years of his residence in Juneau 
have made him widely known and brought him a large circle of warm friends, 
for his life has ever been upright and honorable and his native talents and 
acquired ability have been directed along lines that have made his life activi- 
ties a serviceable factor in the world's work. 



John W. Pluck is passenger engineer on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railroad and has held this position for twenty-five years. His long ser- 
vice has been faithful and intelligent and has won him the confidence and 
esteem of his employers, who recognize in him the rare quality of reliability 
and value his energy, resourcefulness and efficiency. He was born in Horicon, 
June 22, i860, a son of Miles and Jane (Reilly) Pluck, natives of County Wick- 
low, Ireland. The father came to Wisconsin in 1852 and settled in Horicon 
in the spring of 1856. For some time he worked at the blacksmith's trade but 
later engaged in railroad work, in which he continued until his retirement in 
1893. He died in 1897, having survived his wife since 1885. He was prominent 
and active in local affairs and in the early days of Horicon served as trustee 
of the village. He and his wife had six children: Timothy, deceased, who was 
a passenger conductor on the St. Paul railroad; Mary, the widow of James 
Garvin, of Horicon; John W., of this review; Thomas, who served four years 
as register of deeds and who is now in the restaurant business in Horicon; 
Milo, who is engaged in the same line of occupation in the railroad station at 
Horicon; and Catherine, the wife of James McManus, an engineer residing 
in Horicon. 

John W. Pluck was educated in the public schools of his native section and 
followed the usual course of studies until he was sixteen years of age, when 
he began working as a fireman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, 
continuing in this position for five years. On May 9, 1882, he was made en- 
gineer and given a freight run from Portage to Milwaukee. He was later 
transferred to the line from Milwaukee to Winncconne and on April 4. 1887. 
was again transferred to the passenger department and given the territory be- 



JOHN W. PLUCK. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



87 



tween Horicon and Portage. For twenty-five years he has held this position 
and has discharged his duties always capably and efficiently. In 189s he pur- 
chased a farm which is now within the city limits and upon this he opened a 
brickyard, which he operated until 1908, when he disposed of his entire hold- 
ings and at the present time gives his attention to his engineering duties, although 
he has a large tract of land in North Dakota, the revenue of which materially 
adds to his income. 

On February 19, 1889, Mr. Pluck was united in marriage to Miss Alice 
Condie, a daughter of Andrew and Hannah Condie, the former of whom was 
prominent in the lumber business until his retirement. He now makes his home 
with the subject of this review. His wife has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pluck have a son, Thomas, who was born November 27, 1889. He is a gradu- 
ate of the pharmaceutical department of Marquette University at Milwaukee, 
receiving his degree in 1912, and is now engaged in the drug business in Hori- 
con. The family reside in one of the most pleasant homes in Horicon and 
Mr. Pluck has won many friends during his long period of residence here, 
who honor and respect him for his upright and straightforward life. 

Mr. Pluck, always public-spirited and marching in the front rank with 
those far-sighted citizens to whose heart is dearest and nearest the progress 
and improvement of their home city and the welfare of its people, has played no 
mean part in the official life of the municipality. In 1897, when Horicon was 
incorporated as a city under the state law, his fellow citizens gave due recog- 
nition of their appreciation of him and his efforts by honoring him with election 
to the mayor's chair, the highest office in their gift, and Mr. Pluck became the 
first mayor of Horicon. That he fulfilled the duties and demands of this im- 
portant office to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, to the betterment of 
the city, the general improvement of conditions, that his rule was wise and ef- 
fective — there is no more conclusive proof needed than the fact that he was 
continued in the chair for six years by reelection. During this time was in- 
augurated a new era of development and prosperity in the young-born city 
and Mayor Pluck's work in connection therewith was of an important and last- 
ing character, his administration — a benefit to the community— an honor to him- 
self. 



FRANK JOSEPH MIRLACH. 

Frank J. Mirlach is a native son of Beaver Dam, prominent in business, fra- 
ternal and political circles of his community and, in the able conduct of his 
many enterprises, is an important factor in its citizenship. He has spent his 
entire life in the city where his birth occurred December 4. 1872. He is a son 
of Andrew F. and Frances H. (Haertl) Mirlach, natives of Germany. His 
father came to America in 1854 with his parents and was married in Beaver 
Dam, his wife having come to the United States in 1853. He learned the jew- 
elry trade after coming to this country and upon his arrival in Wisconsin formed 
a partnership with his brother Joseph F., in establishing an enterprise along 
this line. In this business which they are now conducting they achieved sue- 



88 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cess from the beginning. Andrew F. Mirlach is now in his sixty-eighth year. 
His wife passed away when she was fifty- four years of age. 

Frank J. Mirlach is the second in a family of six children. He was educated 
in the parochial schools of Beaver Dam, laying aside his books at the age of 
thirteen, in order to accept a position as a driver, of a delivery wagon for a local 
grocery. His wages were seventy-two dollars a year and he worked the entire 
twelve months before he drew any money. When he abandoned this line of 
occupation he worked upon a farm for a short time and then clerked in a 
grocery store for a year and a half. At the end of that time he started to learn 
the jewelry business under the supervision of his father, completing his ap- 
prenticeship in a short time. In 1901 he added to his activities by accepting the 
office of city clerk, to which position he was reelected for six successive terms. 
On January 1, 1907, he definitely abandoned business life in order to devote 
himself exclusively to politics. He was elected to the office of register of 
deeds and did able and effective work for four years. When his term expired 
he established himself in the real-estate business, in which he had previously 
become interested and he is now dividing his time between this occupation, the 
management of his private interests and his duties as mayor of Beaver Dam. 
To this latter office he was elected by the city council to fill a vacancy and in 
the spring of 191 2 was reelected by a very large majority. In order to accept 
he was obliged to resign his position as chairman of the police and fire com- 
mission. 

Mr. Mirlach is one of the prominent and successful men of Beaver Dam 
and has a firm faith in the future of the city. He owns one hundred and fifty- 
eight acres of fine farm land in the vicinity, fourteen houses within the city 
limits and forty lots scattered throughout the city. He is a stockholder in the 
old national bank. He makes his home with his father, his brother Eugene 
and his sister Fannie and with them attends St. Peter's Catholic church of 
Beaver Dam. He is interested in religious affairs and is a member of the So- 
ciety of St. Peter. He also belongs to the Eagles, the Beavers and the Ben 
Hur society. He is a man of varied interests, loyal, public-spirited and thor- 
oughly capable. His political and commercial success have a common cause in 
his high and upright standards and his unquestioned integrity. He is a shrewd 
and able business man with a comprehensive grasp of modern conditions and 
of the economical phases which influence them while his political success has 
been determined by the same qualities of honesty and good faith which had aided 
and hastened his commercial prosperity. 



Frederick William Gcbhardt has long been identified with the Citizens Bank 
of Juneau, in which for sixteen years he has held the position of assistant 
cashier. Of German extraction, he is a native of this state, his birth having oc- 
curred in Hustisford on the 25th of November, 1871. lie is a son of Frederick 
William and, Maria (Richter) Gebhardt, who were born, reared and married in 
Zellin. Germany. Together with their two eldest children they emigrated to 



FREDERICK WILLIAM GEBHARDT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



89 



the United States in June, 1871, coming direct to Hustisford, this county. The 
father, who was a shipbuilder in the old country, here followed the carpenter's 
trade until about 1896, when he opened a furniture store which he is still con- 
ducting. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Gebhardt numbered seven, our sub- 
ject being the third in order of birth. 

Although he was born and reared in a home of moderate circumstances, 
Frederick William Gebhardt was given the advantages of a practical education. 
He began his schooling in Hustisford, following which he attended the high 
school at Horicon, subsequently pursuing a commercial course in a business 
college at Rockford, Illinois. From the age of thirteen years during vacations he 
worked at the carpenter's trade with his father, but he never followed this oc- 
cupation regularly. Upon leaving school he taught during the winter months 
for four years and subsequently identified himself with the furniture business. 
Two years later he severed his connection with mercantile activities, however, 
and became connected with the Citizens Bank of Juneau. He began in the ca- 
pacity of bookkeeper but in 1896 he was made assistant cashier and has ever 
since held this position. He is a stockholder in this bank, which is one of the 
firmly established and stable financial institutions of the county, as well as 
one of the most conservative. 

In Hustisford, on the 5th of November, 1900, Mr. Gebhardt was married 
to Miss Ida Fiedler, a native of that town and a daughter of Ernest and Anna 
(Haertel) Fiedler. The parents came direct to Hustisford from Germany, in 
which country they were born and reared. The father, who was a mason, here 
followed his trade until he died. The mother is still living and now makes her 
home with Mrs. Gebhardt, who is her only child. To Mr. and Mrs. Gebhardt 
there have been born two children : Hertha, whose birth occurred on the 24th of 
November, 1901 ; and Anna, whose natal day was the 14th of May, 1903. 

The parents manifest their religious faith through their connection with 
the Reformed Lutheran church, and fraternally Mr. Gebhardt has attained the 
rank of a Knight Templar in the Masonic order. He belongs to the blue lodge of 
Juneau, the chapter of Horicon and the commandery at Beaver Dam. He is 
also a member of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. His 
political indorsement he accords to the democratic party, and is now serving 
as city treasurer. He is likewise treasurer of the Automatic Carrier Com- 
pany, and is a stockholder in this enterprise. Mr. Gebhardt is one of the 
popular employes of the Citizens Bank as he is gracious and affable and extends 
to their patrons every accommodation compatible with the policy of the institution. 



WILLIAM VOLKMANN. 

William Volkmann, who is creditably and efficiently discharging the duties 
of sheriff, is one of Dodge county's native sons, his birth having occurred in 
Herman township on the 27th of March, 1865. His father, William Volkmann, 
was born in Germany on the 9th of August, 1838, but he spent the most of his life 
in America, having come to this country with his parents when a child of eight 



90 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



years. The family located in Watertown, this state, and there he grew to man- 
hood and was subsequently married to Miss Albertine Gentz. She is likewise 
a native of Germany, her birth having occurred on the 25th of March, 1841. 
Her parents emigrated to the United States when she was ten years of age and 
she has ever since resided in Wisconsin. Soon after their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Volkmann moved to Herman township, going from there to Hubbard 
township two years later. There they continued to reside the father still de- 
voting his energies to agricultural pursuits. German thrift and energy re- 
sulted in prosperity and he acquired extensive property interests. Recently 
he has sold three hundred and twenty acres of his holdings to the Northwestern 
Iron Company for three hundred dollars per acre, thus realizing a handsome 
profit on the investment in addition to the competence he has acquired from the 
cultivation of his fields during the intervening years. Our subject is the eld- 
est of the five children born to his parents, the others, in order of birth, being as 
follows: August D., who is engaged in the furniture business at Iron Ridge; 
Edward B., who is in the real-estate business at Watertow nj Al bert, who is 
farming in Herman township, this county; and Albertine, the wife of George 
Hennig, a fanner of Herman township. The parents are members of the 
Lutheran church and have reared their family in the faith of that denomination. 

In common with the history of the majority of the pioneers that of the Volk- 
mann family is one of toil and achievement, parents and children uniting their 
energies toward the attainment of a single purpose — the acquirement of a home. 
Under such circumstances the early advantages of the children were neces- 
sarily limited. They attended the district schools, however, until they had mas- 
tered the common branches while at home they were trained in habits of thrift 
and industry, which enabled them to develop into self-reliant men and women 
and useful members of society. William Volkmann's youth was not unlike 
that of the other lads with whom he was reared. He early became familiar 
with the duties and requirements of the agriculturist, assisting his father with 
the cultivation of the home place until his twenty-fourth year. He was then 
married and removed to Beaver Dam township, where he engaged in general 
farming for seventeen years. His efforts were energetically directed along 
well defined lines with the persistence that invariably brings success. There 
were the usual obstacles and discouragements encountered by every man, but 
instead of bringing defeat they developed within him the hardihood and re- 
source that only served to strengthen his determination. Such characters in- 
variably succeed and now he holds the title to two hundred and sixty-one acres 
of productive land, adjacent to the city of Beaver Dam. As his circumstances 
permitted he added to its value by the erection of substantial buildings and the 
introduction of many modern improvements, including an equipment compris- 
ing everything required by the modern agriculturist. Upon leaving the farm 
he engaged in the hotel business in Beaver Dam for four years, at the expira- 
tion of which time he assumed the duties of his present office. 

On the 18th of May, 1888, Mr. Volkmann was married to Miss Lydia Hen- 
nig, who was born in Herman township, this county, on May 6, 1869. She is 
a daughter of Henry and Katherine Hennig, natives of Germany, who came 
to Dodge county during the pioneer period and were among the first settlers 
of Herman township. There the father passed away but the mother was living 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



91 



in Chester township at the time of her death. Mrs. Volkmann, who is the 
youngest in a family of six children, has become the mother of two sons : Ed- 
win E., who was born on the 28th of March, 1889, employed in a large mercan- 
tile establishment of Milwaukee; and Arthur A., whose birth occurred on the 
3d of May, 1893. He is turnkey in the Dodge county jail. 

The family are members of the Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Volk- 
mann is a democrat and has taken an active interest in local affairs of a gov- 
ernmental nature from the time he was granted the right of franchise. While 
living on the farm he held some of the minor offices, and after removing to 
Beaver Dam he was trustee of the insane asylum and he was also chairman 
of the township of which he was likewise treasurer for five years. During the 
two years of his present incumbency he has discharged his duties in a com- 
mendable manner, thus fulfilling the expectations of his constituency and prov- 
ing the wisdom of their selection. 



FRANK F. CONGDON. 

Frank F. Congdon needs no introduction to the readers of the history of 
Dodge county, for he is widely known as the manager of the Woolen Manufac- 
turing Company, owning and controlling one of the most important and ex- 
tensive business enterprises of the city — an undertaking which is winning for 
Beaver Dam its reputation as a great manufacturing center. He was born in 
Wautoma, Wisconsin, in i860, a son of George B. and Celia F. (Flanders) 
Congdon. The father came to Wisconsin in 1847 with George H. Stewart and 
grew up with him. Mr. Stewart was the owner of a woolen mill which was even- 
tually purchased by George B. Congdon and G. W. Chandler. From that time 
forward until his death the father was actively connected with the business of 
which his son is now manager and made his home in Beaver Dam until called 
to his final rest in January, 1907. His widow still survives, as do their two sons, 
Frank F. and George C, the latter a resident of Milwaukee. 

The former had a public-school education and then went into the mill with 
his father. The Woolen Manufacturing Company was established in 1853 by 
George H. Stewart and in 1865 was sold to G. W. Chandler and G. B. Congdon, 
who conducted the enterprise under the name of the Chandler-Congdon Com- 
pany until 1882, when the business was incorporated as the Woolen Manufac- 
turing Company. In 1892 the Beaver Dam Worsted Company rented the plant 
and occupied it until 1902, in which latter year the former business was reorgan- 
ized, becoming the property of its present owners. The officers of the com- 
pany are: M. A. Jacobs, president; T. D. Lawrence, vice president; J. W. Mil- 
ler, secretary; Peter Buele, treasurer; and Frank Congdon, manager. The 
company manufactures cassimeres used for men's clothes and their goods are 
sold in all the large clothing centers, being sent to most of the more important 
cities throughout the country. The cloth manufactured is all of high grade and 
the mill has a capacity of one thousand yards per day, employing eighty people 
in the operation of the plant. The factory is equipped with both steam and 
water power and has a private track from the main line of the railroad. This is 



92 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the largest mill of its kind in the state and is the only one in Dodge county 
that is now in operation. The building occupied is forty-five by one hundred 
and fifty feet, is three stories in height with basement and has a large ell, thirty 
feet square, of the same height. The building is splendidly equipped with mod- 
ern machinery and in its manufactured goods the company meets the demands 
of critical taste in style, workmanship and quality. Entering the business in a 
minor capacity, Frank F. Congdon acquainted himself with various depart- 
ments of the trade and thereby became well qualified to assume the responsi- 
ble duties of manager, in which position he is now serving. 

In May, 1881, Mr. Congdon was married to Miss Alice G. Hambright 
and unto them have been born two children, Edith and Clarence S. Mr. Cong- 
don is prominent in Masonry, having attained the Knight Templar degree of 
the York Rite and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. In fact he has 
gone through all departments of Masonry save the thirty-third degree and for 
three years he was master of the lodge at Beaver Dam. His political allegiance 
is given to the republican party and in matters of citizenship he stands for re- 
form, progress and improvement, but the demands of his business leave him 
no time for active work along political lines. He concentrates his efforts upon 
the control of the important manufacturing interests under his care and has 
made for himself an enviable place and name in business circles. 



While now living retired Thomas L. Newton was long a prominent figure 
in the business circles of Beaver Dam. He has passed the eighty-fifth milestone 
on life's journey and his rest is well deserved, being the fitting reward of years 
of earnest, persistent and honorable effort. His labors have at various times 
and in many ways contributed to the progress and upbuilding of the state and 
in matters relating to the public welfare Mr. Newton's position has never been 
an equivocal one. He has always stood firmly in support of what he has be- 
lieved to be for the best interests of the commonwealth at large and his labors 
have been far-reaching and effective. 

Mr. Newton was born in Templeton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, July 
27, 1827, his parents being Amos and Lydia (Larnard) Newton. The family 
is of English origin and was established in America in the colonial epoch of 
our country's history. The father followed the occupation of farming in New 
England and there Thomas L. Newton was reared, continuing his residence in 
the east until August, 1856, when, attracted by the business opportunities of the 
growing west, he came to Beaver Dam. Here he became a clerk in the grocery 
store of A. P. Lawrence, with whom he remained for a year, and subsequently 
he opened a store in connection with Horace G. Damon, with whom he continued 
for two or three years. On the expiration of that period he purchased 
his partner's interest and engaged independently in the grocery business 
until i860, when he admitted Andrew Willard to a partnership. This rela- 
tion was maintained until 1865, when Mr. Newton sold out to Mr. Willard 
and turned his attention to general merchandising. In that line of business he 



THOMAS L. NEWTON. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



95 



continued until 1900, or for a period of forty-five years, when he sold out to 
clerks who had been with him from five to twenty years, giving them the oppor- 
tunity to pay as they could. The business was then incorporated, Mr. Newton 
taking stock as collateral for notes. He figured prominently as a merchant 
of Beaver Dam, his. progressive business methods being such as would bear the 
closest investigation and scrutiny and measured up to high standards of com- 
mercial ethics. Aside from merchandising he has been well known, becoming 
vice president of the old National Bank and at different times owning as high 
as four farms in this part of the state. He has been deeply interested in the 
subject of raising fine stock, making a specialty of Percheron horses and Short- 
horn cattle, and has won many prizes thereon. He has been the only breeder in 
the county to sell a carload of registered Percheron horses at a time, having in 
1904 disposed of that number to A. P. Nave, of Attica, Indiana. Mr. Newton 
has been very prominent in connection with both county and state affairs, realiz- 
ing how great a stimulus they have been to the efforts and enterprise of the agri- 
cultural class. For a year he served as the president of the State Agricultural 
Society and for four years was its secretary. 

In 1854 Mr. Newton was united in marriage to Miss Harriet A. Childs, of 
New Hampshire, the wedding being celebrated in thewiast. They became the 
parents of three children but two of the number passed away, the surviving 
son being Theodore L., who is a merchant of Marshalltown, Iowa, and is mar- 
ried and has three children. In 1907 Mr. Newton erected his present home, 
which is a beautiful residence, richly and tastefully furnished. There he and 
his wife are spending the evening of life, amid many comforts which have come 
to them as the result of his industry and business ability. In politics he has long 
been an earnest republican and upon the party ticket was elected to the office of 
alderman. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, being the oldest mem- 
ber of the lodge at Beaver Dam, while with Portage Commandery, K. T., he 
also holds membership. Wherever known he is held in high regard and most 
of all where he is best known. The most envious cannot grudge him his suc- 
cess, so industriously and honorably has it been won, and in reviewing his life 
history of unfaltering activity and straightforward purpose and recognizing 
how pleasantly he is now situated, one cannot but feel 

"How blest is he who crowns in shades like these 
A youth of labor with an age of ease." 



SAMUEL C. ELSER. 

Samuel C. Elser has for the past three years been engaged in the grocery 
business at Beaver Dam, in partnership with George Elser, and has won success 
in this connection. His birth occurred in Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 30th 
of April, 1865, his parents being George and Maggie (Elser) Elser. The fa- 
ther, a native of Germany, crossed the Atlantic to the United States at an 
early day, and took up his abode in Pennsylvania. In 1863 he came west, set- 
tling in Dodge county, Wisconsin. He, was a carpenter by trade and also 

»i n-n 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



followed general agricultural pursuits. His political allegiance was given to 
the democracy, while his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. His 
demise, which occurred in 1904, was the occasion of deep and wide-spread re- 
gret, for his life had been upright and honorable in all its relations. His widow, 
who survives him, makes her home in Beaver Dam. Their children were as 
follows: Christ; George; Samuel; Theodore; Charles; William; Lizzie, who is 
the wife of John E. Miller; Mrs. Annie Miller; Mrs. Maggie Helbing, who 
makes her home in Watertown, South Dakota ; and Mrs. Lena Vetter, of Bea- 
ver Dam. 

Samuel C. Elser attended the district schools until fifteen years of age and 
after putting aside his text-books turned his attention to general agricultural 
pursuits, being busily engaged in the work of the fields until about 1909. At 
that time he purchased an interest in the grocery store of George Elser of 
Beaver Dam, with whom he has since been associated in business. They carry 
an extensive line of staple and fancy groceries and are accorded a liberal pat- 
ronage. Mr. Elser is also a stockholder in the Beaver Dam Foundry Company 
and the German National Bank. 

Mr. Elser was united in marriage to Miss Amalia Vetter, a daughter of 
August and Sophia Vetter. She was one of a family including: Oscar, de- 
ceased; Robert; Mrs. Keller; Mrs. John Long; and Mrs. Frank Hinsky. Mrs. 
Amalia Elser was called to her final rest in 1908. Mr. Elser is a democrat ?nd 
during the year 191 1 served as supervisor from the seventh ward. He belongs 
to the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran Society. A well spent life has won him the favorable re- 
gard of those with whom he has come into contact. 



SIDNEY R. JONES. 

The name of Sidney R. Jones has long been prominently connected with 
the business interests of Juneau, where for sixteen years he has been president 
of the Citizens Bank. He is a man of keen discernment and sagacity and has 
assisted in the organization of various local enterprises, chief among these 
being the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, of which he has been the presi- 
dent since it was founded in 1875. He is of American ancestry and was born 
in the vicinity of Troy, Rensselaer county, New York, on the 24th of Febru- 
ary, 1836. His parents were Ira and Penelope (Green) Jones, also natives of 
the Empire state, the father's birth having there occurred on the 31st of March, 
1810, and that of the mother on August 29, 181 1. Ira Jones, who was a farmer, 
came to Wisconsin with his family in 1843. They first resided in Watertown 
but eighteen months later they came to Dodge county. Pioneer conditions pre- 
vailed in this section of the state and they lived in a log cabin in very much 
the same manner as other early settlers. The father acquired valuable real 
estate and at the time of his death held the title to two hundred acres of ex- 
cellent land. His latter years were passed in Hustisford. Nine children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, two of whom died in infancy. Those who lived to 
attain maturity were as follows: Polly Ann, deceased; Sidney R., our subject; 



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97 



Seneca B. ( who is a farmer in Hustisford township ; Samuel A., who is farming 
in Oak Grove township: Flora, deceased; Florence, the wife of F. W. Greene, 
who is living retired in Juneau; and Maggie L., the widow of William Slight, 
of Juneau. 

The first seven years in the life of Sidney R. Jones were passed in his na- 
tive state and there he began his education. He continued his studies in the 
schools of Watertown and Hustisford, but in common with the majority of 
the pioneer youths his early opportunities were limited. The lack of educa- 
tional advantages is never a hindrance to the progress of an ambitious man, 
however, as he invariably finds ihe means of overcoming his deficiencies and 
at the same time develops those qualities, which pave the way to success and 
mark him as a leader in his community. Having been reared on a farm he was 
early trained to agricultural pursuits, assisting with the cultivation of the home 
place until he was twenty-four years of age. Later he purchased a hundred and 
twenty acres of land in Hustisford, which he still owns and began farming on 
his own account. He resided on his farm until 1903 and during that period 
extended its boundaries to two hundred acres and added to its improvements 
until it is one of the most valuable properties in the township. Since with- 
drawing from agricultural pursuits, Mr. Jones has made his home in Juneau, 
devoting his entire attention to his interests here. 

On the 21st of March, i860, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Anna Baker, 
who was born in England on the 9th of July, 1839, ^ is a daughter of Thomas 
and Eliza Baker. The mother died in the old country, but in 1854 the father 
came to America with his family and located on a farm in Lebanon township, 
in the cultivation of which he engaged until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones 
there has been born one child, Cora, the wife of Ernest E. Randall, a farmer, 
who is living retired in Hustisford. Mr. Jones votes the republican ticket, 
but the extent of his personal interests has made it impossible for him to figure 
in local political activities, although he has served as assessor. He is not remiss 
in matters of citizenship, however, but on the contrary cooperates in forward- 
ing the welfare of the community and in promoting the development of its 
various public utilities. 



ALBRECHT W. SCHOENWETTER, D.D. S. 

One of the most enterprising and progressive dentists of Beaver Dam is 
Dr. A. W. Schoenwetter who has been practicing his profession in this city 
since 1910. His active career has been short but his expert and specialized 
knowledge have combined with personal ability to make his rise rapid and his 
prosperity sure. Dr. Schoenwetter is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth hav- 
ing occurred at Lowell, in August, 1889. His parents were Albert and Pauline 
(Bartell) Schoenwetter, the former a native of Lowell, Wisconsin, and the 
latter of Germany. Albert Schoenwetter followed agriculture for many years 
and was prominent in public life. He served as chairman of the town board for 
six years and for a long time did able and efficient work as trustee of the in- 
sane asylum. He is now president of the Lowell Canning Company and is one 



98 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of the representative and prominent citizens of that city. He and his -wife were 
the parents of seven children : Gerhart, of Lowell, Wisconsin, who married Miss 
Bertha Buske, by whom he has three children, Harvey, Oscar and Bernice; 
Olga, who also resides in Lowell; Albrecht, the subject of this sketch; and 
Arthur, Paul, Emma and Bernice, all of whom live in Lowell. 

Dr. Schoenwetter was reared at home and educated in the public schools of 
his native city. He attended Valparaiso University at Valparaiso, Indiana, and 
was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1907. He early deter- 
mined to make the practice of dentistry his life work and in order to fit him- 
self for this line of occupation enrolled in the Chicago College of Dental Sur- 
gery, graduating with the class of 1910 and obtaining in that year his degree 
of D. D. S. He immediately located for practice in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 
and has been in this city since that time. His practice has constantly increased 
as his methods and efficient equipment became better known. 

On July 12, 1910, Dr. Schoenwetter was united in marriage to Miss Leon a 
Raymond, a daughter of Lewis Raymond, of Valparaiso, Indiana. Mrs. Scho- 
enwetter was born December 6, 1891, and is one of six children born to her 
parents, the others being: Malda; Ida, who is a graduate of Valparaiso uni- 
versity from the department of instrumental music; Laura, who studied voice 
culture in Valparaiso University; Duffy, who graduated from the law depart- 
ment of the same institution and received a degree of Bachelor of Science, tak- 
ing also a complete commercial course with special studies in elocution; and 



Dr. Schoenwetter is a democrat, taking an intelligent interest in public af- 
fairs not, however, participating actively in politics beyond casting his ballot. 
He is a membtr of the German Reformed church. The profession of dentistry 
requires a steady and dexterous hand, a concentrated mind and a skill which 
is mechanical and technical as well as scientific. All these elements of success 
Dr. Sciioeu wetter possesses in a large measure, and upon them he has based 
his prosperity. He is still a young man but his attainments prophesy well for 
his future professional career. 



Courtney Starkweather owns a fine farm of two hundred acres of land 
directly across the river from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and is active and suc- 
cessful as an agriculturist. During his life he has been prominently connected 
with business expansion in the city and still maintains his identification with 
some important local enterprises. He was born in Alabama, Genesee county, 
New York, on April 18, 1843, an d ' s a son °f Martin and Mary Jane (Batch- 
elder) Starkweather. His grandfather, Amos Starkweather was also a native 
of New York, having been born in Chautauqua. He married Miss Betsey Bul- 
lock a native of New York, who died in Oneida county, October 10, 1877. They 
were the parents of ten children: Phoebe, born June 6, 1793; David; Benjamin; 
Nelson; Betsey; Riley; Almira; Florilla; Martin, the father of our subject; 
and Schulyer. 



Mabel. 



COURTNEY STARKWEATHER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



99 



Martin Starkweather was born in Worcester, New York, on June i, 1812, 
and came to Wisconsin at an early date. He died in Columbus in this state 
about the year 1890. His wife in her maidenhood was Miss Mary Jane Batch- 
elder. Their marriage occurred in 1840 in Alabama, New York, and they be- 
came the parents of the following children: Asher, who died during the Civil 
war; Courtney, the subject of this review; and Minnie. 

Courtney Starkweather came to Wisconsin when he was ten years of age 
and located in Columbia county, where he remained for twenty years. He re- 
ceived part of his education in the public schools of that district and learned 
the carpenter's trade. He laid aside his books at the age of twenty and worked 
at different occupations for four years in his fathers shop. He married in 
1871 and some time after went to Fall River, where he followed the wagon, 
blacksmithing and harness business for eighteen months, finally locating in 
Beaver Dam in April, 1874. In this city he established himself in partnership 
with Mr. Cleveland in the lumber business, operating under the name of Stark- 
weather & Cleveland. He eventually purchased his partner's interest and ran 
the concern with remarkable success until 1900. In that year he abandoned 
active connection with it and it has since been managed by his son. In De- 
cember, 1909, the lumber enterprise was incorporated with a capital of fifty 
thousand dollars under the name of C. Starkweather & Son. The firm does a 
general lumber business and deals in coal and building materials. It is one of 
the largest enterprises of its kind in Dodge county and its dominating fac- 
tor, Mr. Starkweather, is accounted among the progressive forces in industrial 
development. Mr. Starkweather is the owner of two hundred acres of land 
directly across the lake from Beaver Dam and is giving his attention to its de- 
velopment along modern lines. He has equipped his farm with the most im- 
proved devices in labor-saving machinery and takes a pride in making his one 
of the model properties in this section of the country. He has, however, not 
abandoned his identification with business advancements in the city. He is a 
stockholder in the Beaver Dam Iron Works and is a director in the Farmers 
State Bank. There is hardly any phase of business activity with which his name 
is not prominently connected and no movement looking toward further progress 
ever seeks his cooperation in vain. 

Mr. Starkweather was married on November 15, 1871, to Miss Adelaide A. 
Eggleston whose birth occurred in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on November 7, 
1845. Mrs. Starkweather is a daughter of Thomas G. and Deborah H. (Aus- 
tin) Eggleston, the former a native of England and the latter of Utica, New 
York. They settled in Wisconsin at an early date locating first in Milwaukee 
and later in Waukesha, finally removing to Fox Lake where they both died, 
the father in 1892, when he was eighty-two years of age, and the mother in 
1894, when she had reached the age of eighty-four years. Mrs. Starkweather is 
one of six children born to her parents: Charles H., who is living in Fox Lake 
and is seventy-six years old; Georgiana M., who died June 3, 1883, when she 
was forty-four years of age; Ellen F.. born in 1840, who is now Mrs. Smith of 
Reedsburg; Frances A., born in 1843, who is now Mrs. Price, of St. James, 
Minnesota; Adelaide A., the wife of our subject; and Harriett M., who was born 
in 1847, and who died in Chicago when she was fifty-one years of age. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Starkweather have been born two children. The eldest is Charles 



100 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



A., whose birth occurred on November 26, 1877. He married on June 24, 
1901, Miss Cora B. Winn, of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire. Mrs. 
Charles Starkweather is one of five children born to her parents. The others 
are : Charles, of Holyoke, Massachusetts ; Carrie, now Mrs. Chickering, of West 
Chesterfield, New Hampshire; Grace, who became the wife of H. Chickering 
of the same city; and Samuel, who also resides in New Hampshire. They 
are the parents of two children : Evelyn Grace, born March 10, 1903 ; and Court- 
ney Winn, born March 10, 1908. Charles Starkweather was educated in the 
public schools of Beaver Dam and later attended the Wayland Academy from 
which institution he was graduated in 1898. He supplemented this by a business 
course in the Spencerian Business College, of Milwaukee, graduating in 1899. 
He is now prominent in business circles of Beaver Dam and is following in 
his father's footsteps as a constructively energetic factor in commercial up- 
building. He is identified with some of the most important concerns in the 
city and as secretary and treasurer of the Beaver Dam Foundry Company has 
influenced the success of that institution. The other child born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Starkweather is Bessie, whose birth occurred on August 17, 1883. She was 
educated in the public schools of Beaver Dam, and is a graduate of Wayland 
Academy. She later attended Downer College, of Milwaukee, and finished her 
education by an extended tour in Europe. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Starkweather is consistently republican and 
intelligently interested in public questions. He is affiliated with the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows and belongs to the Baptist church. His farm to 
which he is now giving most of his attention is carried on along the same lines 
of progress and expansion which have always marked his business career. It 
is a model and up-to-date property in every respect and has been a contributing 
factor in agricultural development. 



Frank G. Bartelt, the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres on section 23, Oak Grove township, devotes his attention to dairying and 
in this connection has won a gratifying measure of success. His birth occurred 
in Hubbard township, Dodge county, on the 23d of March, 1878, his parents 
being August and Augusta (Kraus) Bartelt, both of whom were natives of Ger- 
many. The father, who became an early settler of this county, here worked as a 
farm hand for a time and afterward cultivated rented land. Subsequently he 
purchased a farm in Hubbard township and there spent the remainder of his 
life passing away about 1908. His widow still survives and now makes her 
home with our subject in Oak Grove township. 

Frank G. Bartelt, who was the third in order of birth in a family of four 
children, obtained his education in the district schools of Oak Grove township. 
When a youth of sixteen he left the parental roof and during the following 
six years worked as a farm hand. Subsequently he operated a rented farm in 
Oak Grove township for five years and on the expiration of that period pur- 
chased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres a mile east of Juneau, whereupon 



FRANK G. BARTELT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



101 



he has resided to the present time. He has erected a barn, one hundred by 
forty feet, an east wing, sixty by twenty-two feet, and a silo, eighteen by thirty- 
four feet. The farm is well improved in every particular and is devoted to 
the dairy business, its owner keeping on an average of fifty head of stock, about 
half of which are pure bred Holsteins. He is a member of the Holstein Friesian 
Association of America and in his undertakings as a dairyman has won pros- 
perity, being now numbered among the substantial and representative citizens 
of his native county. 

On the 17th of February, 1900, Mr. Bartelt was united in marriage to 
Miss Emma Steffen, who was born in Hustisford, this county, on the 7th of 
October, 1877, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. William Steffen, natives of 
Germany. They became early settlers of Hustisford township, and Mr. Steffen 
is an extensive landowner of this county, being still actively engaged in general 
agricultural pursuits. His wife passed away many years ago. 

Mr. Bartelt is an idependent republican in politics, supporting the ticket 
where national issues are involved but not considering himself bound by party 
ties at local elections. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, belonging to the 
church of that denomination at Juneau. In the county where they have spent 
their entire lives both Mr. and Mrs. Bartelt enjoy the esteem of an extensive 
circle of friends and acquaintances, having at all times displayed those sterling 
traits of character which in every land and clime command confidence and 
regard. 



EDWIN J. HARTER. 

Edwin J. Harter, a well known and substantial agriculturist of Oak Grove 
township, is the owner of an excellent farm of sixty acres on section 14. His 
birth occurred in Hartford township, Washington county, Wisconsin, on the 
10th of May, 1872, his parents being David M. and Amanda (Nelson) Harter. 
The father was born at Kirkville, New York, on the nth of April, 1842, while 
the mother's birth occurred at Rubicon, Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 
nth of September, 1849. David M. Harter was but eighteen months old when 
taken to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by his parents, who later removed to Herman 
township, this county, and here he grew to manhood. In 1864 he enlisted in 
the Union army, serving in the Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and 
later was transferred to the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as a 
private. After being mustered out he returned home and in 1867 removed 
with his parents to Hartford, Washington county, this state, where he became 
a landowner and where he still resides. He successfully followed general ag- 
ricultural pursuits throughout his entire business career and is now living re- 
tired. 

Edwin J. Harter supplemented his early education by a course of study in 
the high school at Hartford and later continued his studies in the State Normal 
School at Oshkosh, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 
1896. At the age of nineteen he began teaching in Rubicon township, this 
county, following that profession during the winter months for twelve years 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



and being engaged in farming during the summer seasons. Subsequently he 
purchased a farm of sixty acres in Oak Grove township, where he has since de- 
voted his attention to general agricultural pursuits, his property being now well 
improved and productive. He is preparing to specialize in pure bred Holstein 
cattle, etc. In connection with his farming interests he acts as president of the 
Juneau Butter & Cheese Company and he is likewise identified with the Ameri- 
can Society of Equity, now serving as secretary of Enterprise Local Union. 

On the 25th of August, 1897, Mr. Harter was united in marriage to Miss 
Minnie A. White, who was born in Hartford, Washington county, Wisconsin, 
on the 9th of July, 1869, her parents being William W. and Emily (Shepherd) 
White. The father's birth occurred in Herman township, this county, in 1835, 
while the mother was born in Hartford township, Washington county, about 
1845. William W. White has been engaged in farming throughout his active 
business career but in early manhood traveled about to some extent, going 
to California during the gold excitement and to other places in search of op- 
portunities. Eventually he took up his abode near Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where 
he has resided continuously since, now living in honorable retirement. His 
wife passed away in the thirty-third year of her age. Unto our subject and his 
wife was born one child, who died in infancy. They have an adopted son, 
Howard Victor, whose natal day was March 9, 1909. 

In politics Mr. Harter is a republican but his aspirations have not been in 
the line of office holding. His religious faith is indicated by his membership 
in the Methodist Episcopal church at Juneau. A man of upright principles 
and progressive spirit, he occupies an enviable place in the respect of his fel- 
lowmen by reason of his loyal citizenship and his genuine personal worth. 



AUGUST F. WOOCK. 

August F. Woock, a representative of one of the honored pioneer families 
of Dodge county, is well known as a prosperous agriculturist of Oak Grove town- 
ship, owning a highly improved farm of eighty acres on section 16. His birth 
occurred in Burnett township, this county, on the 14th of May, 1878, his parents 
being Charles and Louisa (Graf) Woock. The father is a native of Dodge 
county, this state, while the mother was born in Germany. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject became a pioneer settler of the eastern part of this county 
and was killed while felling trees in clearing a homestead here, his son Charles 
being at that time but three days old. Charles Woock, the father of August 
F. Woock, followed farming throughout his active business career and also 
worked at carpentering. Soon after his marriage he became a landowner in 
Burnett township, where he has resided continuously since, now living retired. 
He held some local offices in the early days and is well known and highly es- 
teemed throughout the county in which his entire life has been spent. Unto him 
and his wife were born four children, as follows: August F., of this review; 
William, John and Robert, all three of whom reside in Burnett township. 
The four sons all follow farming and are landowners. 



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August F. Woock attended the district schools of his native township in the 
acquirement of an education and when a youth of seventeen began working 
as a farm hand for others, being thus employed for about five years. Subse- 
quently he cultivated rented land in Trenton township for three or four years 
and on the expiration of that period purchased the farm in association with 
a brother, while at the end of about seven years he became sole owner of the 
property. Disposing of that place, he bought a farm of eighty acres in Oak 
Grove township, in 1907, where he has resided to the present time. His land 
is rich and productive and his buildings are modern and up-to-date. The neat 
and thrifty appearance of his farm indicates the supervision of a practical and 
progressive owner, and his labors as an agriculturist have been attended with 
gratifying success. He is likewise a stockholder in the Juneau Cheese & But- 
ter Company. 

On the 1 2th of September, 1901, Mr. Woock was united in marriage to 
Miss Lillie Webber, who was born in Burnett township, this county, on the 1st 
of April, 1 881, her parents being Henry D. and Carrie (Hasse) Webber, na- 
tives of Germany. They came to the United States with their respective par- 
ents, took up their abode among the early settlers of Dodge county and were 
here married. Henry D. Webber was formerly a farmer and landowner of Bur- 
nett township but is now living retired at Juneau. He served with the Union 
army throughout the period of the Civil war and, being wounded, was confined 
in a hospital for some time. His wife is also yet living. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Woock have been born three children, as follows : Ella, whose natal day was 
October 31, 1903; Leonard, whose birth occurred on the 25th of June, 1905, 
and who passed away on the 13th of April, 1906; and Arnold, who was born 
on the 3d of July, 1906. 

In politics Mr. Woock is independent, supporting men and measures rather 
than party. In religious faith he is a Lutheran. Both he and his wife have al- 
ways lived in Dodge county and have an extensive circle of friends here. 



EDWARD C. OESTREICH. 

Edward C. Oestreich is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and 
eighty-five acres on section 24, Oak Grove township, and devotes his attention 
to the dairy business. That place has remained his home from his birth to the 
present time, his natal day being March 11, 1875. His parents were Ferdinand 
and Caroline (Schiebel) Oestreich, the former born in Stettin, Germany, on the 
27th of August, 1837, and the latter in Saxony on the 25th of December, 1846. 
Their marriage was celebrated in Watertown, this county. Ferdinand Oest- 
reich, who emigrated to the United States in 1862, was a locksmith by trade 
and worked at that occupation in Watertown for a time, while subsequently he 
was employed as a machinist for two or three years. He then took up his 
abode in Juneau and there conducted a saloon for three and a half years. On 
the expiration of that period he purchased the farm which is now in possession 
of our subject, operating the same successfully until 1906, when he sold the 
property to his son Edward. He continued to reside thereon, however, until 



104 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



called to his final rest on the 4th of May, 1912, having for more than eight years 
survived his wife, who passed away on the 1st of February, 1904. The period 
of his residence in Dodge county covered a half century and he enjoyed a wide 
and favorable acquaintance within its borders. Unto him and his wife were 
born five children, as follows: Clara, who resides with her brother Edward; 
William, who is engaged in the hardware business at New London, Wis- 
consin; Emil, who is engaged in business with his brother, William; Alfred, 
who passed away when eleven years of age ; and Edward C, of this review. 

The last named acquired his education in the district schools of Oak Grove 
township and after putting aside his text -books assisted his father in the opera- 
tion of the home farm, beginning to receive wages when a youth of eighteen 
and continuing to work in that way until twenty-nine years of age. In 1904 
he rented the place and eighteen months later purchased the property, which 
comprises one hundred and eighty-five acres of valuable land. The farm is well 
improved in every particular and the buildings thereon are both substantial and 
modern. Mr. Oestreich devotes his attention principally to dairying, keeping 
about thirty-five head of Holstein cattle. He is likewise a stockholder in the 
Juneau Telephone Company and is widely recognized as a prosperous and 
enterprising citizen of his native county. 

On the 12th of June, 1007, Mr. Oestreich was united in marriage to Miss 
Adela Griep, who was born in Oak Grove township on the 30th of October, 
1886, her parents being Otto and Minnie (Wrucke) Griep, both natives of 
Dodge county. The father, who has followed general agricultural pursuits 
throughout his entire business career, now resides in Hubbard township, where 
he owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Griep have 
been born seven children, of whom Mrs. Oestreich is the only daughter and 
the third in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Oestreich have one child, Harvey 
Earl, whose natal day was June 15, 1908. 

In politics Mr. Oestreich is independent, supporting the men and measures 
that he deems will best conserve the general welfare, without regard to party 
ties. He attends the services of the Lutheran church and is a member of the 
American Society of Equity. Both Mr. and Mrs. Oestreich have a very extensive 
acquaintance in the county where they have always resided and because of their 
upright and honorable lives are uniformly esteemed. 



Edward F. Lueck, a worthy native son and enterprising agriculturist of Oak 
Grove township, devotes his attention to the operation of a farm of one hundred 
and twenty acres on section 25. His birth occurred on the 26th of June, 1886, 
his parents being Christopher Fred and Minnie (Schmidt) Lueck, both of whom 
are natives of Brandenburg, Germany. The father was born on the 31st of 
December, 1849, while the mother's natal day was August 16, 1 85 1 . Their 
marriage was cerebrated in Lomira township, Dodge county, Wisconsin. Chris- 
topher F. Lueck was but a small boy when he accompanied his parents on their 
emigration to the United States, and his father died soon afterward. He grew 



EDWARD F. LUECK. 





HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



105 



to manhood in Lebanon township, this county, and subsequently removed to 
Minnesota, where he became the owner of a small farm. A short time afterward, 
however, he disposed of the property and returned to Dodge county, purchasing 
a farm in Oak Grove township and residing thereon for about ten years. On 
the expiration of that period he sold the place and bought the farm on which 
his son Edward now resides. In 1907 he put aside the active work of the fields, 
leased the property and took up his abode in Juneau. Two years later he re- 
turned to the farm but after residing thereon for one year leased the place to 
our subject and went back to Juneau, where he has since lived in honorable 
retirement. Both Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Lueck still survive and enjoy an extensive 
and favorable acquaintance throughout the county which has been their home 
for so many years. Unto them were born four children, as follows: William, 
who is a mason by trade and resides in Juneau; Emil, who passed away at the 
age of nine years; Edward F., of this review; and Alma, the wife of E. A. 
Mieske, of Horicon. 

Edward F. Lueck obtained his early education in Oak Grove township and 
also pursued a course of study in the high school at Juneau. When a youth of 
fourteen he began working for others as a farm hand and was thus employed for 
six years. Subsequently he spent two years at the carpenter's trade and after- 
ward worked for his father for one year. He then rented the homestead from 
his father and has since devoted his attention to its operation, making a specialty 
of dairying and of the raising of Poland China hogs and Holstein cattle. The 
place comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land and is highly improved 
and developed. 

On the 22d of September, 1910, Mr. Lueck was united in marriage to Miss 
Lydia Amanda Beyer, who was bom in Williamstown township, this county, 
on the 19th of September, 1892. They now have one child. Hazel Alma Hattie, 
whose natal day was January 4, 1912. Mr. Lueck gives his political allegiance 
to the democracy, believing firmly in the principles of that party. He is a 
member of the Reformed church at Juneau and also belongs to the Equity 
society of the Farmers Union. Both he and his wife have always remained in 
this county and are well known and highly esteemed as young people of upright, 
honorable lives. 



WILLIAM M. BEYER. 

William M. Beyer, the father of Mrs. Edward F. Lueck, owns and operates 
a well ^improved farm of one hundred and five acres. His birth occurred in 
Theresa township, this county, on the 12th of February, 1851, his parents being 
Charles and Frederica (Castcner) Beyer, both of whom were natives of Prussia, 
Germany. Their marriage was celebrated in Dodge county, Wisconsin, Charles 
Beyer having emigrated to this country in 1847 and Miss Castener in the follow- 
ing year. Mr. Beyer took up a timber claim in Theresa township and con- 
ducted a small store. Subsequently he took up his abode on a farm near Hori- 
con, west of Mayville, continuing to reside thereon for about twenty years. On 
the expiration of that period he removed to Fayette county, Illinois, and was 



106 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



there engaged in farming until the time of his demise, which occurred in 1875. 
His wife passed away some years later. 

In the acquirement of an education William M. Beyer attended the district 
schools of Theresa township and also a German school. When twenty-seven 
years of age he started out as an agriculturist on his own account, purchasing 
a farm and being busily engaged in its operation for about twenty-four years. 
At the end of that time, having met with financial reverses, he returned to 
Dodge county and spent some time in the employ of others. He then purchased 
a small farm in Williamstown township and made his home thereon for about 
nine years. In 1901 he bought the farm of one hundred and five acres on which 
he has since resided and where he carries on general farming and dairying. Suc- 
cess has attended his efforts in this connection, and he is widely recognized as 
one of the substantial and respected citizens of his native county. 

On the 24th of June, 1879, Mr. Beyer was united in marriage to Miss Louisa 
Sasse, who was born in Theresa township, this county, on the 20th of August, 
1857, her parents being Charles and Sophia (Bradig) Sasse, natives of Germany. 
Mr. Sasse, a tailor by trade, became a farmer and landowner of Theresa town- 
ship and later took up his abode in Fayette county, Illinois, where both he and 
his wife passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Beyer have eight children, as follows: 
Emma,, who is the wife of Robert Teltzrow and resides in Dodge county ; Helen, 
the wife of William Buchta, who is a carpenter residing in South Bend, Indiana ; 
Hulda, who gave her hand in marriage to Oscar Blohm, a tailor of Beaver Dam ; 
Gustav, who resides at home; Bernhardt, who is a cheesemaker living near 
Brandon; Frederich, twin brother of Bernhardt, who is a cheesemaker residing 
near Fox Lake; Anna, the wife of Alex Voss, who is a farmer living near Hori- 
con ; and Lydia A., the wife of Edward F. Lueck. In politics Mr. Beyer is an 
independent republican, while his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. 
His life in all of its various relations has been of such a character as to com- 
mand the respect and esteem of those with whom he has beep associated. 



ALBERT SCHW ANTES. 

Albert Schwantes, the owner of a valuable tract of one hundred and sixty 
acres on section 26, Oak Grove township, devotes his attention to the pursuits 
of farming, stock raising and dairying and in all of his undertakings has met 
with success. His birth occurred in the province of Pommern, Germany, on 
the 28th of January, 1865, his parents being August and Amelia (Schultz) 
Schwantes, likewise natives of that province. The father was born on the 28th 
of September, 1842, while the mother's birth occurred on the 20th of March, 
1840. August Schwantes served as a member of the regular army in Germany. 
In 1872 he emigrated to the United States with his family, locating in Water- 
town, Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he worked for others. Subsequently 
he took up his abode in Hustisford township and there continued in the employ 
of others for some time. He next spent live years in Washington county but 
on the expiration of that period returned to Hustisford township, this county, 



Digitized by Google 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



107 



here residing until called to his final rest on the 3d of December, 191 1. His 
wife passed away in 1909. 

Albert Schwantes, the first born in a family of six children, acquired his 
education in the schools of Hustisford township. After attaining his majority 
he rented a farm in that township and was busily engaged in its operation for 
seven years. At the end of that time he purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
of land in Oak Grove township and has since devoted his attention to the further 
cultivation and improvement of the place, having erected modern buildings 
and added all the conveniences and accessories of a model farm of the twentieth 
century. He is engaged in both farming and stock raising and also devotes con- 
siderable attention to dairying, keeping a fine herd of cattle. He has ever been 
a diligent and progressive man and his earnest and intelligently directed labor 
constitutes the basis of his success. 

On the 28th of February, 1887, Mr. Schwantes was united in marriage to 
Miss Bertha Grulke, who was born in the province of Pommern. Germany, on 
the 3d of April, 1866, her parents being John and Hannah Grulke, also natives 
of Pommern. They crossed the Atlantic to the United States about 1882 and 
located on a farm in Hustisford township, this county, where Mr. Grulke passed 
away in 1907. His widow is still living in that township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Schwantes have been born six children, as follows : Anna, whose birth occurred 
on the 18th of May, 1888, and who is now the wife of Henry Rolaff, a farmer 
residing in Hubbard township; Alfred, who was born on the 20th of March, 
1890; Mata, whose natal day was August 20, 1892; Arthur, born Sa p tem be f 10, 
1895; Hubert, born October 12, 1898; and one who died in infancy. MAr " 

In politics Mr. Schwantes is a stanch republican, exercising his right of 
franchise in support of the men and measures of that party. In religious faith 
he is a Lutheran, belonging to the church of that denomination at Juneau. Widely 
known in the county where he has resided from boyhood days, he has an exten- 
sive acquaintance here and has won uniform trust and good will by reason of 
a life which in all of its phases has been straightforward and honorable. 



THEODOR HUTH. 

With the death of Theodor Huth in Beaver Dam on January 28, 1902, 
Dodge county lost one of its earliest pioneers, a man who was an influential 
force in its commercial upbuilding. His residence in Wisconsin dates from 1850 
and he lived in Beaver Dam since 1856. From that time until his death he was 
identified with some of the largest industrial concerns in the city and also did 
constructive work in politics. He was born in Rossla, Prussia, on April 4, 
1832. and is a son of Alexander and Henrietta Huth. He received his educa- 
tion in the public schools of his native country and upon coming to America 
in 1850 located in Milwaukee. He remained in that city for six years coming to 
Beaver Dam in 1856 where he maintained his residence until the time of his 
death. He was identified with some of the most representative industries 
in Dodge county, as president of the German National Bank. He did efficient 
work in promoting commercial and industrial expansion and as a large stock- 



106 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



holder in the Beaver Dam Cotton Mills and Malleable Iron Works he proved 
his business ability. His undoubted honor and integrity won him a high 
place in the esteem and respect of his fellow citizens and his influence was al- 
ways given to worthy causes and applied to the benefit of his community. 

In 1851 Mr. Huth was united in marriage to Miss Anna B. Keil of Mil- 
waukee, who died some time ago. On April 30, 1895, Mr. Huth was again 
united in marriage. His second wife was in her maidenhood Miss Barbara 
M. Sherman, a daughter of John and Eva (Schwerdt) Sherman, who lived 
in Beaver Dam for many years. They were originally from Germany and set- 
tled first in Oswego, New York, whence they came to Wisconsin. Mrs. Huth 
is one of five children born to her parents. The others are : Lawrence, who died 
when he was thirty-seven years of age ; Caroline, now Mrs. Peter Buele of 
Beaver Dam ; Julia, who has passed away ; and John, who is practicing medicine 
in Beaver Dam. Mr. and Mrs. Huth became the parents of two children: 
Herman R., born April 8, 1898, who is attending the public schools; and 
Theodora, who died at the age of six months. 

In 1879 Mr. Huth was chosen chief of the fire department which was the 
first organization of its kind in Beaver Dam. He held this position and con- 
ducted the duties of his office with ability and success for several years. He 
was alderman for two terms and mayor of the city from 1883 to 1884. His 
political career was distinguished by high ideals of personal service and by con- 
stant striving to promote the interests of his fellow citizens. He was a Luth- 
eran in his religious faith and was president of the First Lutheran church of 
Beaver Dam for over twenty-five years and did constructive work in promot- 
ing the interests of that organization. His careful and systematic methods of 
business resulted in acquiring a comfortable fortune which was always used 
judiciously, for the benefit and upbuilding of this section of the country. Dur- 
ing his life he was a witness of the gradual growth and development of Dodge 
county and bore an honorable part in its political and financial development. 
His death deprived the city of Beaver Dam of an upright and honorable Chris- 
tian gentleman. 



William F. Schunemann is the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred 
acres on section 11, Oak Grove township, which he devotes almost exclusively 
to dairying, having on hand about eighty head of pure bred Jerseys. His birth 
occurred near Berlin, Germany, on the 24th of January, 1858, his parents being 
Fred and Sophia (Finger) Schunemann, both of whom were born near Berlin 
in the year 1833. In 1862 they emigrated to the United States, coming direct 
to Lowell. Dodge county. Wisconsin. One year later they located on a farm 
where Fred Schunemann cultivated rented land for a number of years. About 
1882 he removed to South Dakota, purchased and located on a farm of two hun- 
dred acres in Spink county and there passed away in 1883. The demise of his 
wife occurred in Redficld, South Dakota, about 1903. 



WILLIAM F. SCHUNEMANN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



109 



William F. Schunemann, who was the second in order of birth in a family 
of eight children, obtained his early education in the schools of Herman and 
Oak Grove townships and later pursued a high-school course in Trenton town- 
ship. When about twenty-four years of age he was married and began operating 
the farm then belonging to his wife and on which he has resided to the present 
time. He has extended its boundaries by the purchase of eighty acres and it 
now embraces two hundred acres. He devotes his attention principally to dairy- 
ing, breeding pure bred Jerseys and having on hand about eighty head of pure- 
bred stock. His stock commands fancy prices and he has made shipments to all 
parts of the United States. He is a stockholder in the Juneau Cooperative Mer- 
cantile Company and has long been numbered among the enterprising and pros- 
perous citizens of this county. 

On the 21st of December, 1881, Mr. Schunemann was united in marriage to 
Miss Ellen Barrott, who was born near Oswego, New York, on the 18th of June, 
1847, her parents being Morrison and Diana Barrott, likewise natives of the 
Empire state. The father was a farmer by occupation and also worked at the 
cooper's trade. It was in 1855 that Mr. and Mrs. Barrott came west to Dodge 
county, this state, locating on the farm which is now in possession of our sub- 
ject. Morrison Barrott here passed away in 1886, at the age of ninety-one years, 
having for three decades survived his wife, whose demise occurred in 1856. 

Mr. Schunemann exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and 
measures of the republican party but has never sought nor held office. He attends 
the services of the Methodist Episcopal church but is not a member thereof. 
He has lived in this county for a half century and there is no better evidence 
of the sterling worth of his character than the fact that many of his stanches* 
friends are those who have known him from youth, having found him true to 
high principles in every relation of life. 



ERNST KUEHN. 

Ernst Kuehn, who devotes his attention to general agricultural pursuits in 
Oak Grove township, is the owner of a farm of eighty-one and a half acres on 
section 2 and in its operation has won success. His birth occurred in Hubbard 
township, Dodge county, on the 7th of August, 1878, his parents being Wil- 
liam and Louisa (Schwanke) Kuehn, both of whom were natives of Germany. 
The father emigrated to the United States about 1871 and came direct to this 
county, settling in Hubbard township, where he purchased a farm and spent 
the remainder of his life. His demise in 1907 was the occasion of deep and 
widespread regret, for he had gained an extensive circle of friends during the 
period of his residence in this county, which covered more than a third of a 
century. His widow, who still survives, makes her home with our subject. 

Ernst Kuehn, the youngest in a family of nine children, obtained his early 
education in the schools of his native township and subsequently attended the 
high school at Horicon for two terms. He remained on the home farm and as- 
sisted in its operation until thirty-one years of age, when he purchased a tract of 
eighty-one and a half acres two and a half miles west of Horicon, the further 



110 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cultivation and improvement of which has since claimed his time and attention. 
In connection with the production of cereals he raises enough stock for his 
own use, and in his labors as an agriculturist has won a creditable measure of 
prosperity. 

In politics Mr. Kuehn is a stalwart democrat but he has never sought nor 
desired office as a reward for his party fealty. His religious faith is indicated 
hy his membership in the Lutheran church at Horicon. He has lived in Dodge 
county from his birth to the present time and is widely and favorably known 
within its borders. 



Among Beaver Dam's successful business men, the men who have made for 
themselves a notable name and place, and in promoting individual interests 
have also contributed to public prosperity, is John W. Miller, vice president of 
the German National Bank. The greater part of his life has been devoted to the 
marble business and in that field of activity he won a substantial measure of his 
success. He was born in Columbus, Wisconsin, February 22, 1856, and is a 
son of J. C. and Catherine (Linck) Miller, both of whom were of German 
birth and crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1853. They became resi- 
dents of Columbus, Wisconsin, and were there married. The father purchased 
land and engaged in farming until 1872, when he took up his abode in the city 
of Columbus, where he resided to the time of his death in July, 1894. His 
widow survived him for about eleven years and passed away in February, 1905. 
They were consistent members of the Methodist church and commanded the 
high regard of all who knew them. 

John W. Miller was the only son in a family of four children. At the usual 
age he entered the public schools of his native city, passing through consecutive 
grades until he became a high-school student. He entered business circles in 
his boyhood days as an employe in a harness shop, working at that trade for 
a year, after which he learned the marble-cutting trade, which he followed until 
he reached the age of twenty-three. In 1879 he came to Beaver Dam, where he 
entered the firm of Turner & Blumenthal as a partner under the style of Tur- 
ner, Miller & Blumenthal. He continued in the business world in that connec- 
tion for nineteen years, at the end of which time he purchased his partner's 
interests and became owner of the Beaver Dam Marble Works. After carry- 
ing on the business for twelve years he sold out and has since lived practically 
retired In the meantime he had enjoyed an enviable patronage, for excellent 
workmanship and honorable dealing had commended him to the confidence of 
the public. He has been well known in banking circles as the vice president of 
the old German National Bank since 1907. He is one of the stockholders and 
secretary of the Beaver Dam Woolen Mills and at one time was president of 
the Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Range Company, of which he still remains as 
a director. He is likewise a director of the Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Works 
and the Beaver Dam Manufacturing Company. Keen sagacity and unflagging 
enterprise are salient features in his success and have brought him to his present 
enviable position. 



JOHN W. MILLER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



113 



In 1880 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Josephine Kluckhohn, of Columbus, 
a daughter of the Rev. F. Kluckhohn, who is of German descent and came here at 
an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born five children, of whom two 
sons and two daughters are yet living: Clarence E., who is assistant cashier 
of the First National Bank, of Columbus, Wisconsin ; Albert G-, assistant cashier 
of the German National Bank, of Beaver Dam; Gertrude, who is a bookkeeper 
in the German National Bank; and Edith, at home. A daughter, Goldie, died 
at the age of nineteen years. 

The parents are members of the Methodist church and guide their lives by 
its teachings. Mr. Miller belongs to the Masonic order and to Beaver Dam 
Commandery, K. T. In politics he is a republican and has filled a number of 
local offices. At one time he was candidate for county treasurer and, although 
defeated, he ran far ahead of his ticket, which indicates his personal popularity 
and the confidence reposed in him. For fourteen years he has been a member 
of the school board and his influence has been cast on the side of many progres- 
sive movements for the benefit of public education here. He started out in life 
empty-handed but determination and energy have paved the way to success 
for him. He early realized that there is no royal road to wealth but that industry 
and determination will conquer all obstacles. Accordingly, in utilizing these 
qualities in large measure, he has gained for himself the present enviable posi- 
tion which he occupies among the business men of Beaver Dam. 



WILLIAM H. BECKEN. 

William H. Becken was for many years prominently and widely known in 
Beaver Dam as a successful and expert jeweler. He has now abandoned this 
field of activity and is engaged in general merchandising. He has met in this 
occupation with all the prosperity and progress which attended his former line 
of endeavor and is recognized as a man who is doing more than his share to 
contribute to the growth of his city. He was born in Waterloo, Wisconsin, De- 
cember 25, 1869. His father was a native of Germany and foliowed farming . 
in that country for a number of years. He also served in the fatherland as 
secretary to King William and was loyal and faithful to the institutions of his 
native land. He was a successful and prosperous man, entirely self-made. 
His only learning was that which he derived from extensive and varied reading. 
He fanned in Newville township, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, for a number oi 
years and gained prosperity and success in this line. A few years previous to his 
death he retired from active life and removed to the city of Waterloo, Wisconsin, 
in 1883. His wife in her maidenhood was Miss Johanna Lamphool and their mar- 
riage occurred in Wisconsin. Four children were born to their union : August D., 
of Lakemills, Wisconsin; Charles F., a resident of Waterloo; William H, the 
subject of this sketch ; and Lydia, who died at the age of three years. 

William H. Becken was reared at home and received his education in the 
public schools of Waterloo. He later attended high school in that city, laying 
aside his books at the age of seventeen. He served an apprenticeship in the 
jewelry business, followed by a course in horology at Laporte, Indiana, thus 
fitting himself to engage in a lucrative and specialized branch of his chosen oc- 

v<*. n-T 



114 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cupation. He followed this line for a number of years and did special work 
as instructor in the Laporte schools for one year, at the end of which time 
he established himself in the jewelry business in Beaver Dam, opening a store 
on February I, 1903. He located in the old Tippenhauer building, from which 
he later removed to the Wagner block. He was prosperous and successful as 
a jeweler, building up his business from a comparatively small beginning to one 
of the most flourishing enterprises of its kind in the city. He eventually dis- 
posed of his interests in this line of occupation to Bailey & Company, on Febru- 
ary 24, 1909, and purchased the general merchandise business of B. E. Law- 
ton. He has been operating this along modern and progressive lines since that 
time and has met with a gratifying degree of success. His store is tastefully 
and attractively arranged and his stock is complete in every detail. Mr. Becken 
has brought to its management a business discernment and a judicious mind 
combined with commercial shrewdness and ability of a high order. His suc- 
cess is natural, based as it is upon qualities which insure prosperity. 

On the 3d of June, 1896, Mr. Becken was united in marriage to Miss Lydia 
E. Martin, a daughter of Jacob and Mary A. Martin, of Beaver Dam. Mrs. 
Becken was one of seven children : Jacob and Carrie, both of whom are de- 
ceased ; Rose, who is Mrs. R. A. Welch of Beaver Dam ; Lydia, the wife of our 
subject; Laura E., who married A. Robinson and is residing in Huron, South 
Dakota; Elsie, who became the wife of H. Montgomery of Hartford, Wis- 
consin; and Alfred, who is living in Beaver Dam. Mrs. Becken is a charming 
woman of many attainments and has many friends in Beaver Dam who have 
known her from childhood. She and her husband are the parents of two chil- 
dren: Carl M., born March 13, 1897; and Adela, whose birth occurred on March 
31, 1902, and who is a student in Wayland Academy. 

Mr. Becken gives his allegiance to the democratic party but is not person- 
ally active in public affairs, preferring to devote his attention to the progress 
and expansion of his mercantile enterprise. He is prominent in Masonry, 
belonging to the lodge and chapter and is also active in the affairs of the Tribe 
of Ben Hur and the Royal Arcanum. He is also a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America in which organization he has served as clerk for eleven 
years, his term expiring in 191 1. Mr. Becken has been successful in the broad 
lines of activity which have marked his career as a resident of Beaver Dam. 
He is an expert manager with sound business judgment and keen discernment, 
and his store is justly accounted a leading commercial enterprise. 



J. R. Krueger, who is now living retired on his farm of sixty-eight acres on 
section 3, Oak Grove township, also owns another improved tract of eighty-one 
and two-thirds acres here and was for a number of years actively engaged in 
general agricultural pursuits. His birth occurred at Cologne on the Rhine, Ger- 
many, on the 2d of September, 1842, his parents being Charles and Christina 
(Duezing) Krueger, who were likewise natives of that country. The father there 
followed fanning throughout his entire business career and passed away in 
1910 at the age of eighty-nine years and six months. The mother is still living 
in Germany. 



J. R. KRUEGER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



115 



J. R. Krueger obtained his education in the schools of the fatherland and 
when fourteen and a half years of age began learning the molders trade, work- 
ing at that occupation until he entered the regular army, in which he served for 
seven years and nine months. In 1872 he crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States and after spending a couple of weeks in New York made his way to 
Detroit, Michigan, where he was employed as a molder for eighteen months. 
At the end of that time he removed to Hartford, Wisconsin, and there worked 
for ten years. On the expiration of that period he bought the farm of sixty- 
eight acres on which he now resides and also came into possession of another 
improved tract of eighty-one and two-thirds acres, devoting his attention to 
general agricultural pursuits until the death of his wife in 1901. For the past 
eleven years he has lived in honorable retirement, renting his land and employing 
the services of a housekeeper. He won success in his undertakings as a farmer 
and has long been numbered among the substantial and esteemed citizens of the 
community. 

In October, 1873, Mr. Krueger was united in marriage to Miss Christiana 
Ohldreg, who was born in Greifswald, Pommern, Germany, on the 27th of Sep- 
tember, 1835. Two children were born- unto them, namely : Charles, who is 
engaged in the furniture business in Chicago and Mary, who is employed 'as 
cashier by Siegel, Cooper & Company of Chicago. The wife and mother was 
called to her final rest on the 5th of May, 1901. 

At the polls Mr. Krueger supports the men and measures of the republican 
party, believing firmly in its principles. The honors and emoluments of office, 
however, have never had any attraction for him. In religious faith he is a 
Lutheran. Coming to the new world in early manhood, he here found the op- 
portunities which he sought and in their utilization has won a place among the 
prosperous and representative citizens of this county. 



HERMAN A. BECKER. 

Herman A. Becker, a prosperous and leading agriculturist of Oak Grove 
township, is the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred and forty-one acres 
and makes a specialty of dairying. His birth occurred near Juneau, Dodge 
county, on the 18th of November, 1866, his parents being August and Christine 
(Lindemann) Becker, both of whom were natives of Germany. August Becker 
accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States about 1847, 
the family home being established at Mayville, Wisconsin, and for some time 
thereafter he worked for others. Subsequently he purchased a house and two- 
acre lot in Juneau and also bought a cow but was obliged to borrow the necessary 
pails in which to put the milk. He made his home on that place for several 
years and during that period worked at any employment that offered itself. 
Trading his property for a sixty-acre farm a mile and a half west of Juneau, 
he began the operation of the place and was successfully engaged in its further 
cultivation and improvement throughout the remainder of his life. His demise 
occurred when his son Herman was but six months old. It was in this county 
that he had wedded Miss Christine Lindemann, who continued to reside on the 
home farm until she passed away in 1886. 



116 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Herman A. Becker, the youngest in a family of five children, obtained his 
education in the schools of Juneau. After putting aside his text-books he 
worked for others at intervals, residing with his widowed mother and also 
assisting in the operation of the home place. When a young man of twenty- 
three years he purchased the homestead and two years later, in 1891, disposed 
of the property and bought two hundred and forty-one acres of land on sections 
28, 29 and 32 in Oak Grove township in association with his brother-in-law. 
They carried on general agricultural pursuits in partnership for nine years, on 
the expiration of which period Mr. Becker purchased the interest of his brother- 
in-law and has since remained the sole owner of the farm. He has made a 
number of substantial improvements on the property, which at the present time 
is well equipped in every particular. In connection with the cultivation of 
cereals he makes a specialty of dairying and likewise devotes considerable atten- 
tion to the raising of pure-bred Holstein cattle. He is a stockholder in the 
Juneau Telephone Company and in the cooperative store at Juneau and well de- 
serves recognition among the enterprising and representative citizens of his 
native county. 

On the 22d of November, 1891, Mr. Becker was united in marriage to Miss 
Frances Sell, who was born in the northwest part of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, 
near Columbus, in September, 1874, her parents being Herman and Bertha 
(Kramer) Sell. Her mother resides in Watertown. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Becker 
have been born six children, as follows : Arthur, whose birth occurred on the 1 ith 
of August, 1892; Alex, whose natal day was December 14, 1893; Herbert, who 
was born on the 28th of September, 1895; Leonard, born February 17, 1898; 
Harold, who was born October 13, 1908; and Rubin, born September 18, 1912. 
The parents also have an adopted daughter, Oda, who was born April 1. 1891, 
and whom they adopted as an orphan at the age of thirteen years. 

In politics Mr. Becker is an independent democrat and, though often urged 
to become a candidate for office, has always declined to enter public life, prefer- 
ring to concentrate his attention upon his business affairs. His religious faith 
is indicated by his membership in the German Reformed church at Juneau and 
he also belongs to the American Society of Equity. He is interested in all that 
pertains to progressive public movements, although he has always shunned public 
office, and both in citizenship and in private life he has manifested the sterling 
traits of character which everywhere command respect and regard. 



John C. Griner, a well known and highly esteemed citizen of Dodge county, 
is successfully engaged in business at Rolling Prairie as a general merchant. 
His birth occurred at Watertown, New York, on the 2d of December, 1864, his 
parents being John Jacob and Catharine (Gall) Griner, both of whom were natives 
of Germany. The father was born on the 5th of April, 1822, while the mother's 
natal year was 1829. Their marriage was celebrated in the Flmpirc state. John 
Jacob Griner served his term in the regular army of Germany and then emigrated 
to the United States, locating at Munnsville, New York, where he worked at 
the trade of shoemaking. Subsequently he made his way to Watertown, that 



JOHN C. GRINER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



117 



state, there residing until' the winter of 1865, when he came to Wisconsin. 
After spending about a year at Theresa he came to Rolling Prairie in 1866 and 
here worked as a shoemaker for about fifteen years. On the expiration of that 
period he began farming here, cultivating rented land until 1884, when he again 
took up his abode in Rolling Prairie, where he is still living at the advanced age 
of about ninety-one years. After putting aside the active work of the fields, not 
being content to live in idleness, be busied himself as a carpet weaver. While 
in New York he enlisted for service in the Civil war but procured a substitute 
by making him a pair of boots. He has now been a resident of Dodge county 
for forty-seven years and enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance within 
its borders. 

Mr. and Mrs. John J. Griner celebrated their golden wedding. The wife 
was called to her final rest in 1902. Their children are eight in number, namely : 
William, a carpenter and builder of Beaver Dam; Louise, who is the widow 
of William Wampole and resides in Chicago; George, who resides at Rolling 
Prairie and acts as station agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road Company; Carrie, the wife of Charles Wing, a decorator and contractor 
of Chicago; Minnie, who is the wife of Edward Ralston, a furniture dealer of 
El Centro, California ; John C. of this review ; Nellie, who makes her home in 
Rolling Prairie; and Charles, who lives in Chicago and is an employe of the 
Edison Electric Company. 

In the acquirement of an education John C. Griner attended the schools of 
Rolling Prairie and South Beaver Dam. On attaining his majority he began 
work at the carpenter's trade here and about two years later entered the service 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company as a carpenter, being 
thus employed for six years and traveling considerably over the state. Subse- 
quently he spent a year with the Wisconsin Agricultural Society at Milwaukee 
and then returned to Rolling Prairie, here resuming work at the carpenter's trade 
and later being employed by the railroad company for a short period. He then 
purchased a building in which he has since conducted business, carrying a line 
of general merchandise and enjoying a gratifying patronage. Above the store 
is a public hall. In connection with his mercantile interests Mr. Griner has also 
been engaged in carpentering, and he is widely known throughout the community 
as an industrious, enterprising and respected citizen. 

On the 14th of July, 1903, Mr. Griner was united in marriage to Miss Nevada 
Hawley, who was born in Franktown, Nevada, on the 2d of April, 1862, her par- 
ents being Wright and Phoebe (Bentley) Hawley, natives of Dutchess county, 
New York. The mother was born in 1834, the father being some years her 
senior. Wright Hawley journeyed westward across the plains in 1859 an0 " 
engaged in mining in Nevada, being identified with that line of work until he 
passed away about 1875. His widow, who still survives, makes her home in 
Rolling Prairie. It was in 1842 that her parents took up their abode among 
the pioneer settlers of Dodge county, Wisconsin. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hawley 
were born five children, as follows : Francis and Mary, both of whom are de- 
ceased; Mrs. Nevada Griner; Albert, who has passed away; and Ardell, who 
died in 1900 and was the wife of Albert Yates of Oak Grove township. 

Mr. Griner is a democrat and has ably served in the capacity of justice of 
the peace and also as constable, but his aspirations have not been in the line of 



118 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



office holding. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Lodge 
No. 72, at Beaver Dam, in which he has passed through the chairs. In business 
life he is well known for his alert and enterprising spirit, and his salient quali- 
ties and characteristics are such as win honor and success. Practically his entire 
life has been spent in this county and therefore his record cannot fail to prove 
of interest to many of our readers. 



A good farm of eighty-three acres on section 28, Oak Grove township, pays 
tribute to the care and cultivation bestowed upon it by its present owner, Rich- 
ard Frederick Otto. Everything about the place is neat in appearance and 
indicates his progressive spirit and thrift and the practical methods which he 
pursues in tilling the soil and caring for the crops. His birth occurred in Pom- 
mern, Germany, on the 3d of April, 1882, his parents being Frederick and 
Johanna (Jaeger) Otto, who were likewise natives of that province. The father, 
who worked for others during his entire business career, passed away in Germany 
about 1892. In 1894 the mother and children emigrated to the United States 
and located in Ashippun township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, where they resided 
for about five years. Subsequently Mrs. Otto made her home in Hustisford 
township with her son Emil, who operated a rented farm there. Since 1910 
she has lived with her daughter, Mrs. Schmiedeke, in Clyman township, this 
county. 

Richard F. Otto, who was a lad of twelve years when he came to this country 
with his widowed mother, attended school in Ashippun township, Dodge county. 
When a youth of fifteen he secured employment as a farm hand in Hustisford 
township and later went to other parts of the county, working at farm labor 
until the time of his marriage. Following that important event in his life he 
cultivated rented land in Hustisford township for one year and then purchased 
and located on a farm of eighty-three acres one mile south of Juneau, on which 
he has remained continuously since. In connection with the cultivation of 
cereals he is engaged in dairying to some extent, both branches of his business 
yielding him a gratifying annual income. He is likewise a stockholder in the 
Essman cheese factory, which is located near his farm. 

On the 28th of January, 1904, Mr. Otto was united in marriage to Miss 
Bertha Griep, who was bom in Pommern, Germany, on the 30th of November, 
1879, her parents being Herman and Amelia (Bishop) Griep, also natives of 
that province. The father served as a soldier in the regular army of Germany. 
In 1882 Mr. and Mrs. Griep emigrated to the United States, spending about a 
year in Lebanon township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and subsequently taking 
up their abode on a rented farm in Hustisford township. Later Mr. Griep pur- 
chased a tract of land in that township and thereon spent the remainder of his 
life, passing away on the 13th of December, 1906. His widow now makes her 
home with our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Otto have two children: Alice, who was 
born on the 27th of November, 1905; and Amos, whose birth occurred on the 
4th of May, 191 1. 



RICHARD FREDERICK OTTO. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



119 



Politically Mr. Otto is a stanch democrat, believing firmly in the principles 
of that party. He is a devoted member of the Lutheran church at Juneau and 
exemplifies its teachings in his daily life. Although still young in years, he gives 
promise of attaining the best of success in farming pursuits, as he possesses the 
determination of purpose and energy that invariably enable their possessor to 
reach the desired goal. 



HERMAN RORSCHNEIDER. 

Herman Rorschneider, who follows general agricultural pursuits in Oak 
Grove township, is the owner of a farm of seventy-nine acres on section 32 
and in its operation has won well deserved prosperity. His birth occurred in 
Pommern, Germany, on the 23d of December, 1857, his parents being Carl and 
Caroline (Brahmer) Rorschneider, who were likewise natives of that province. 
The mother died in Germany. In 1882 the father emigrated to the United 
States with his family, settling first in Clyman township, Dodge county, Wiscon- 
sin, where he worked for others for some time. Subsequently he purchased a 
small farm in Oak Grove township, making his home thereon until called to 
his final rest about 1909. 

In the acquirement of an education Herman Rorschneider attended the 
schools of his native land. When a young man of twenty-five years he 
was married and immediately afterward set sail for the United States. Making 
his way to this county, he worked for one year in a brickyard at Lowell and 
subsequently was employed as a farm hand for about five years. On the expira- 
tion of that period he rented a tract of land here, being busily engaged in its 
cultivation for about twelve years. At the end of that time he purchased a farm 
of seventy-nine acres on section 32, Oak Grove township, the operation of which 
has claimed his attention continuously since. The modern buildings and other 
substantial improvements which adorn the property stand as monuments to his 
thrift and enterprise. All of his land is rich and arable and annually yields 
good crops which find a ready sale on the market. He also devotes some atten- 
tion to live-stock interests, keeping about twenty head of cattle. In his work 
he has always followed modern methods, keeping abreast with the times as 
advancement is made in agricultural lines. 

In March, 1882, Mr. Rorschneider was united in marriage to- Miss Lena 
Prust. who was born in the province of Pommern, Germany, on the 16th of 
December, 1857. Her mother passed away in that country and her father after- 
ward emigrated to the United States, coming to Wisconsin about one year later 
than our subject located here. He made his home in Jefferson county until 
his death, which occurred about 1895. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rorschneider have 
been born six children, as follows: Henry, who is an agriculturist of Dodge 
county and makes his home near Waupun ; John, a farmer living near Minnesota 
Junction in Oak Grove township; Amanda, the wife of August Putter, who is 
an agriculturist of Lowell township ; Otto, who assists his father in the operation 
of the home farm ; and Paul and William, who are deceased. 

Mr. Rorschneider is independent in politics, preferring not to be bound by 



Digitized by Google 



120 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



party ties when exercising .his right of franchise. In religious faith he is a 
Lutheran, belonging to the church of that denomination at Oak Grove. Coming 
to the United States in early manhood, he eagerly availed himself of the oppor- 
tunities offered in a land unhampered by caste or class and has steadily worked 
his way upward to a place among the representative and esteemed citizens of his 
community. The period of his residence in Dodge county covers three decades, 
and the number of his friends has increased as the circle of his acquaintance 
has widened. 



John Martin Zeiman, owning and operating a well improved farm of one 
hundred and eighteen acres in Hubbard township, devotes his attention prin- 
cipally to dairying and has won prosperity in his undertakings. His birth oc- 
curred in Hustisford, Dodge county, on the 26th of December, 1870, his par- 
ents being Henry and Christina (Schultz) Zeiman. The father, who was born 
in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, on the 7th of June, 1844, worked at the black- 
smith's trade in early manhood and subsequently became a veterinary surgeon. 
He also became identified with agricultural pursuits and owned two farms in 
Hubbard township, this county, one comprising one hundred and eighteen acres 
and the other one hundred and twenty-seven acres. He served as constable 
at Hustisford and has acted as supervisor at Horicon, where he still makes his 
home. He has been married four times. His first wife, the mother of our sub- 
ject, died at the age of twenty-six years, when her son, John M., was but three 
months old. For his second wife he chose Mrs. Hannah Greasly, who passed 
away nine months later. Mr. Zeiman then married Miss Marguerite Fuiten. 
with whom he traveled life's journey for twelve years. The lady who now bears 
his name was Miss Louisa Kruegcr and was born in Hubbard township on the 
18th of July, 1854. 

John Martin Zeiman started out as an agriculturist on his own account when 
twenty-seven years of age, beginning the operation of a farm of one hun- 
dred and eighteen acres which he received from his father and on which he 
has resided continuously since. The land is rich and arable and responds readily 
to cultivation. Mr. Zeiman has erected a new residence and has improved the 
buildings generally, so that his is now a model farming property. He devotes 
his time and energies largely to dairying and in this branch of activity has 
won a well merited measure of success. 

On the 14th of May, 1902, Mr. Zeiman was united in marriage to Miss 
Sclma Schumacher, who was born in the town of Clyman, this county, on the 
8th of May, 1879, her parents being Martin and Marie (Deutschman) Schu- 
macher, natives of Germany. The father's birth occurred on the 13th of Janu- 
ary, 1837, while the mother's natal day was February 7, 1845. Mr. Schumacher, 
who followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire business ca- 
reer, served for four years as a Union soldier in the Civil war, participating in 
many battles and being wounded twice. Mr. and Mrs. Zeiman have one child, 
Alice, who was born on the 22d of February, 1904, and is now attending school. 



JOHN MARTIN ZEIMAN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



121 



Politically Mr. Zciman is a stanch republican. The cause of education 
has ever found in him a warm friend and he has done able service in its be- 
half, acting as school clerk for six years and as school treasurer for three years. 
His religious faith is that of the Evangelical church. Both he and his wife are 
natives of Dodge county, where they have spent their entire lives and they are 
thus well known in this section of the state, being numbered among the es- 
teemed residents of Hubbard township. 



ALBERT A. ZIMMERMAN. 

Albert A. Zimmerman is engaged in the drug business in Beaver Dam, for 
which undertaking he made scientific preparation that, added to his practical 
experience in that line, well qualifies him for the conduct of one of the lead- 
ing stores of this character in the city. He has been a lifelong resident of the 
Mississippi valley, his birth having occurred in Rochester, Minnesota, May 30, 
1866. His parents were J. C. and Mary (Malich) Zimmerman, the latter of 
German birth, coming to the United States when twelve years of age. The fa- 
ther, a native of Syracuse, New York, removed westward to Wisconsin as a 
young man and settled on school land in Dodge county. He has since been a 
resident here with the exception of two years passed in Minnesota and three 
years in Fall River, Wisconsin. He is now living retired in Beaver Dam, en- 
joying a rest which is the legitimate reward of years of earnest, persistent and 
well directed labor. In the family were ten children, of whom nine are still 
living, the eldest child having died in infancy. The others are : Albert A. ; 
Helene, at home; Mary, the wife of Arthur Radtke, of Beaver Dam; Emma, 
the wife of Frank Schmutzler, of this city ; William, whose home is in Chan- 
ning, Michigan, where he is acting as chief train dispatcher for the St. Paul 
Railroad ; Louis, of Beaver Dam ; Amelia, the wife of Oscar Kneehaus, of St. 
Louis ; Etta, the wife of Ed Kneehaus. also a resident of Missouri ; and Charles, 
living in Beaver Dam. 

Long residence in this city has made Albert A. Zimmerman well known to 
his fellow townsmen. His early education was acquired in the public schools 
and he was graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with the 
class of 1887, there pursuing a pharmaceutical course. For three and a half 
years he clerked in the drug store of Peter Beule and was employed elsewhere 
in a similar capacity for several years ; but laudable ambition prompted him to 
save his earnings in the hope of one day engaging in business on his own ac- 
count, and in 1892, in partnership with J. D. Flack, he purchased a drug store 
which they conducted together until 1895, when Mr. Zimmerman purchased Mr. 
Flack's interest and has since been sole proprietor. He now has a well ap- 
pointed store, carrying a large and carefully selected line of drugs and drug- 
gists' sundries, and the tasteful arrangement of his store constitutes a strong 
feature of his success. 

On the 19th of May, 1892. occurred the marriage of Albert A. Zimmerman 
and Miss Ida Galium, of Beaver Dam, and unto them have been born a son, 
Walter, who at the age of eighteen years is associated with his father in busi- 



122 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ness. The parents are members of the Beavers and Mr. Zimmerman belongs 
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a public-spirited man whose 
cooperation may be counted upon to further measures and projects for the 
general good. He early recognized the fact that industry is the basis of all 
honorable success, and the exercise of that quality throughout his business ca- 
reer has placed him in a creditable position among the merchants of his city. 



Evan Richards, who has remained within the borders of Dodge county 
throughout his entire life, covering a period of more than six decades, has 
been engaged in general agricultural pursuits since early manhood and now owns 
and operates a farm of thirty acres in the village of Oak Grove. He likewise 
conducts an attractive and well patronized hostelry on the place, which is known 
as Oak Grove. His birth occurred in Oak Grove township on the 9th of Sep- 
tember. 1848, his parents being Evan and Margaret (Meigs) Richards, the 
former a native of Wales and the latter of the state of New York. Evan Rich- 
ards, Sr., emigrated to the United States in 1844 and made his way direct to 
Dodge county, Wisconsin. He preempted a tract of government land, walking 
from here to Green Bay for that purpose, and took up his abode one mile north 
of the village of Oak Grove. With characteristic energy he cleared and im- 
proved his property, continuing to reside thereon until called to his final rest 
in December, 1897. As his financial resources increased he purchased land 
from time to time until at one period his holdings embraced three hundred and 
eighty acres in Oak Grove township. The period of his residence in this county 
covered almost six decades and he became widely and favorably known as one 
of its prosperous agriculturists and enterprising citizens. His wife passed 
away on the old homestead, August 17, 1900. 

Evan Richards, who was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine 
children attended the district schools of Oak Grove township in the acquire- 
ment of an education. He remained under the parental roof until after he had 
attained his majority and when about twenty-three years of age undertook the 
management of the home farm in association with his brothers. Subsequently 
he received his share of the estate and also purchased a farm of his own in 
Beaver Dam township, making his home thereon for eighteen years. On the 
expiration of that period he disposed of the property and during the following 
two years lived retired in Juneau. He then purchased and located on a tract 
of thirty acres within the village limits of Oak Grove and has cultivated the 
same continuously since. His beautiful, old-fashioned home, known as Oak 
Grove, has been converted into a hotel and he conducts the same most success- 
fully. 

On the 22d of June, 1886, Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Miss 
Mattie Corwith, a native of Lowell township, Dodge county, and a daughter 
of John and Hulda Jane (Moon) Corwith. The father was born in Cayuga 
county. New York, in 1822, while the mother's birth occurred near Clyde, 
Ohio, in 1823. As a young man John Corwith taught school in the Empire 



EVAN RICHARDS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



127 



ship; Otto, who carries on farming in the same township; and Lydia, who is 
with her parents. 

Henry J. C. Stueber acquired his education in the public schools of Clyman 
township and the German school at Watertown, Wisconsin. He was reared on 
the old homestead farm and there remained until the 16th of February, 1903, 
when he turned his attention to commercial pursuits, joining his uncle in the 
ownership and conduct of a store in Clyman. This partnership continued until 
the spring of 1905, when the uncle sold his interest, and the purchaser soon af- 
terward sold to Frank Klatt, father-in-law of Mr. Stueber, who has since been 
associated with him in the business. They have greatly enlarged their stock 
and now have one of the most extensive stores of the kind, carrying a very 
attractive line of general merchandise, while their business methods commend 
them to the patronage and confidence of the public. Mr. Stueber is also a stock- 
holder in the Bank of Clyman and has made judicious investment in property, 
owning two of the best residences in the town. He devotes his entire time to his 
business and his close application and energy have been the salient features in 
his success. 

On the 22d of June, 1904, Mr. Stueber was married to Miss Lydia Klatt, 
who was born in Clyman township in August, 1887, and is a daughter of Frank 
and Anna (Willie) Klatt, both natives of Germany. There are two children of 
this marriage: Frieda, born December 13, 1905; and Ruth, born May 5, 191 1. 
In politics Mr. Stueber is an independent democrat but has never aspired to 
office. He holds membership in the Lutheran church and honorable principles 
characterize his life, making him well worthy of the high regard that is uniformly 
tendered him. He is an enterprising, diligent man and progressive citizen, who 
well deserves mention among the representative residents of Dodge county. 



CHARLES WARD. 

Charles Ward, the oldest settler in Hubbard township, is now serving his 
twelfth year as assessor of Horicon. His birth occurred in Greenfield township, 
Erie county, Pennsylvania, on the 24th of March, 1840, his parents being Hiram 
K. and Mary (Loope) Ward, both of whom were natives of New York. The 
father followed general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business ca- 
reer. In October, 1843, he brought his family to Wisconsin, locating about a 
mile and a half east of Horicon at Bacon Corners. Subsequently he took up his 
abode at Dunn's Corners, four miles east of Horicon, there residing until about 
1858. At that time he removed to Marengo, McHenry county, Illinois, where 
he purchased a farm and spent the remainder of his life, passing away about 
1883. His wife was called to her final rest in April, 1899. Hiram K. Ward 
held various local offices and was widely recognized as a worthy and represen- 
tative citizen of his community. 

Charles Ward obtained his early education in the district schools of Hub- 
bard township and also studied at Horicon for a short time, but his advantages 
in this direction were limited. However, by reading, observation and experi- 
ence he constantly augmented his knowledge until he became a well informed 



128 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



man. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-one years of age and 
then began working for others as a farm hand. In August, 1862, he enlisted for 
service in the Union army as a private of Company C, Twenty-ninth Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Connit. In May, 1863, he met with an 
accident and was discharged on account of disability, spending a few months in 
the hospital at Helena, Arkansas. After returning home he purchased a yoke 
of oxen and for two years was engaged in farming. Subsequently he went to 
work in the foundry at the Van Brunt plant, being thus employed until about 
1902. At that time he was stricken with paralysis of the muscles, resigned his 
position and has since lived practically retired. He was the owner of a fine 
tract of six acres within the city limits but has recently sold the property to 
his son. 

On the 5th of March, 1865, Mr. Ward was united in marriage to Miss Ellen 
Cody, who was born at Seneca Falls, New York, on the 17th of May, 1847, her 
parents being Edward and Susanna (MacParland) Cody, more extended men- 
tion of whom is made on another page of this work in connection with the 
sketch of John Freeman, deceased, a brother-in-law of Mrs. Ward. Unto our 
subject and his wife have been born three children, namely: Susan, whose 
birth occurred on the 1st of July, 1866, and who passed away on the 10th of 
May, 1873; Ellen, who was born on the 8th of June, 1870, and is the wife of 
Charles J. Webber, a painter and paper hanger of Juneau; and Charles E., 
born July 12, 1872, who is employed as a machinist in the Van Brunt factory at 
Horicon. 

In politics Mr. Ward is a stalwart democrat. He is now serving in the 
capacity of city assessor for the twelfth year and has also held the offices of 
deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy game warden, etc., ever discharging the duties 
devolving upon him in an efficient and highly commendable manner. He is a 
devout communicant of the Roman Catholic church and also belongs to the 
Catholic Knights and the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife is a promi- 
nent member of the Alter Society at Horicon. His record well deserves a 
place in the history of Dodge county, for he is the oldest settler in Hubbard 
township and has long been numbered among the respected and esteemed citi- 
zens of his community. 



Time gives the perspective which places every individual in his proper rela- 
tion to the age and district in which he lives. If his worth is of substantial 
character and his work of real value to the world time but heightens his fame 
and brings a truer appreciation for what he has done. In the case of Daniel C. 
Van Brunt the years have established his position as one to whom Horicon and 
Dodge county owe a debt of gratitude while the agricultural world at large places 
him with that class of men whose labors and inventive genius have constituted 
a vital element for improvement and progress. 

The Van Brunt family, of Holland origin, was founded in America about 
1657 when settlement was made on Long Island. Through successive gencra- 



DANIEL C. VAN BRUNT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



131 



tions until almost the middle of the nineteenth century the family was repre- 
sented in New York. Charles Van Brunt, the father of Daniel C. Van Brunt, 
was born in New York. Daniel C. Van Brunt was also a native of the Empire 
state, born February 8, 1818, and his youthful days were spent in the usual man- 
ner of farm lads of that period. The training which he received from the work 
in the fields stood him in good stead in later years when he began studying the 
needs of the farmer and attempted the improvement of agricultural machinery 
then in use. Before he entered upon his career as an inventor and manufacturer, 
however, he learned and for a time followed the wagon-maker's trade, conduct- 
ing a wagon shop at Maysville. He turned from this, however, to assist his 
brother, George, in working out his ideas concerning the improvement of seeding 
machines and they became the originators of the now world-famous Van Brunt 
seeders. Practically the entire development of seeding machines has taken place 
in the last half century. Previous to i860 when the brothers placed upon the 
market a broadcast seeder that would successfully do the work nearly all seeding 
of small grain was done by hand. With only an interruption that covered but a 
brief period the business thus begun has been continued to the present time. 
Improvement after improvement has been made and the demand for the output 
has increased until the business in volume and importance is second to none in 
the world. For some time the interests were conducted under a partnership 
relation but eventually the business was incorporated and Daniel C. Van Brunt 
remained as president to the time of his death, which occurred January 14, 1901. 

In early manhood Daniel C. Van Brunt was married to Miss Mary Fassett, 
who died September 18, 1852. There were three children of that union but 
Willard A. Van Brunt, the president of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, 
is the only one now living. For his second wife Mr. Van Brunt chose Mary 
Wright, who was born in New York, June 11, 1817. Of this marriage there were 
three children: Ida M., who is the widow of Stephen N. Campbell and resides 
in Horicon ;' Eliott, deceased ; and Hattie, who was the wife of W. A. Wilcox 
and died in 1909. The son married Miss Edith Boeing, of Horicon, and they 
became parents of two children : Blanch, the wife of Charles Reiley, of Milwau- 
kee ; and Daniel C, who is married and resides in Los Angeles, California. The 
mother of these children passed away April 9, 1881, and on the 17th of October, 
1883, Mr. Van Brunt was again married, wedding Martha L. Moore, who was 
born at Cape Vincent, New York, and is a daughter of Robert and Almira 
(Holmes) Moore. Her mother was born in New York, January 20, 1819. Her 
father was a native of the north of Ireland and his mother was of Scotch birth 
while his father was of Scotch-Irish origin. In 1836 he came to Green Bay, 
Wisconsin, but because of the opposition of his wife and her people to a resi- 
dence on the frontier he returned to the east and there engaged in farming, sub- 
sequently removing to Cape Vincent, New York. In that place he lived retired 
and there he educated his children. He held various local offices and was a man 
of considerable local prominence. In the family of Robert Moore and his wife 
were five children. John H., a veteran of the Civil war, was wounded at the 
battle of Ream's Station and was an invalid thereafter, having lost his right leg 
as a result of the wound. He served for fourteen years as postmaster at Cape 
Vincent and died in Rome, Italy. Charlotte J., the second of the family, died 

in infancy. Mrs. Van Brunt is the next younger. Mary J. is the widow of 
wl n-» 



132 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Martin Eichelberger and makes her home with Mrs. Van Brunt. James D.. now 
deceased, was bookkeeper in a large wholesale establishment in Chicago before 
the fire, after which he returned to the east. 

Mr. Van Brunt held membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and his widow is connected with the Eastern Star chapter at Beaver Dam, her 
father having been a prominent Mason, as was her brother James D. Moore. 
For fifty-five years Daniel C. Van Brunt was a resident of Wisconsin. Arriving 
in 1846, he here continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 14th 
of January, 1901. He was one of the-most respected and honored residents of 
Horicon and Dodge county, not only owing to the success he achieved but also 
to the straightforward business methods which he ever followed. His labors 
indeed constituted a valuable contribution to the world's work and have been an 
important element in furthering progress along agricultural lines. 



William John Frederick Gcrbitz, successfully engaged in dairy farming, is 
the owner of a tract of land comprising one hundred and six acres in Clyman 
township. His birth occurred in Exonia township, Jefferson county, Wiscon- 
sin, on the 12th of February, 1858, his parents being William and Fredericka 
(Sumnicht) Gerbitz, both of whom were natives of the province of Pommern, 
Germany. The father was born on the 4th of February, 1826, while the 
mother's natal day was February 1, 1837. Their marriage was celebrated in 
Exonia township, Jefferson county. William Gerbitz emigrated to the United 
States in 1846 or 1848, while Fredericka Sumnicht crossed the Atlantic to this 
country seven years later. The father of our subject located first in Lebanon 
township, Dodge county, but soon afterward purchased a farm in Exonia 
township, Jefferson county, this state, residing thereon until 1875. In that 
year he disposed of the property and bought a tract of land in Emmet town- 
ship, Dodge county, to the cultivation of which he devoted his attention until 
called to his final rest in the fall of 1901. He had resided here continuously 
for more than a quarter of a century and had won many friends throughout 
the community, so that his death was the occasion of deep and widespread 
regret. The demise of his wife occurred in the fall of 1896. 

William J. F. Gerbitz, who was the third in order of birth in a family of 
twelve children, obtained his education in Lebanon township, attending a Ger- 
man school and receiving but little instruction in English. In the years that 
have since passed, however, he has constantly augmented his knowledge by 
reading, experience and observation and is now a well informed man. He re- 
mained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage and continued 
on his father's farm for one year following that important event in his life. 
Subsequently he purchased his present place adjoining the village limits of 
Clyman, ten acres of which have been cut off by the new railroad. Mr. Gerbitz 
devotes his attention to dairying and his efforts in this connection have been 
attended with a well merited measure of success. lie is a stockholder in the 



WILLIAM JOHN FREDERICK GERBITZ. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



133 



cheese factory at Clyman Station and has long been numbered among the 
enterprising and progressive citizens of the community. 

On the 16th of May, 1886, Mr. Gerbitz was united in marriage to Miss 
Rosalina Brandt, who was born in Germany on the 18th of August, 1855, her 
parents being Martin and Carolina (Bornflait) Brandt. Emigrating to the 
United States in 1871, they located on a farm in Emmet township, this county, 
and later removed to another farm on the North road, in the same township, 
where both passed away. Martin Brandt was called to his final rest in March. 
1886, while the demise of his wife occurred in May, 1885. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Gerbitz were born two children, namely : Mata, whose birth occurred on the 
9th of March, 1887; and Martin, whose natal day was April 10, 1891. Both are 
still at home with their father. The mother passed away on the 7th of April, 
1901. 

At the polls Mr. Gerbitz casts his ballot in support of the men and measures 
of the democracy, believing firmly in the principles of that party. He belongs 
to the German Lutheran church at Clyman and exemplifies its teachings in his 
daily life. He has always lived in this part of the state and the circle of his 
friends is a wide one. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which 
has been accorded due recognition of labor and today he is numbered among 
the substantial citizens of his community. 



CHESTER WRIGHT HARVEY. 

Chester Wright Harvey, who has resided in Beaver Dam for a half century, 
has long been numbered among its prominent and leading citizens and for the 
past twenty years has contributed in substantial measure to the success of the 
Dodge County Fair in the capacity of secretary. His birth occurred in Hamil- 
ton, Madison county. New York, on the 13th of August, 1849, his parents be- 
ing Fay M. and Mary M. (Lewis) Harvey. In 1862 the family came west, ar- 
riving in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, on the 22d of November of that year. Fay 
M. Harvey was successfully engaged in business as the proprietor of a meat 
market for thirty years and after his demise the establishment was conducted by 
his son, Chester W., until the 1st of April, 1894. The father passed away on 
the 1st of May, 1881, mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances as 
well as his immediate family. His political allegiance was given to the demo- 
cratic party, the men and measures of which he supported at the polls. Unto 
him and his wife were born the following children: Scelletta, who is the wife 
of George M. Foot; Lewellyn L. f who passed away in Chicago when fifty-nine 
years of age; Rosette, the wife of Dr. S. Curtis, of Madison, New York; Edgar 
M., who died when forty-five years old ; Chester Wright, of this review ; Har- 
riet A., the wife of I. N. Berkeley; and Sarah Elizabeth, who is the wife of J. 
S. Gibson and resides in Beaver Dam. 

Chester Wright Harvey supplemented his early education, obtained in the 
public schools of Morrisville, New York, by a course of study in the high school 
at Beaver Dam and in private schools. When fifteen years of age he put aside 
his text-books and joined his father in the meat market. In other lines of 



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business activity and public endeavor his cooperation has been sought and given. 
He is a director of the Old National Bank, trustee and chairman of the execu- 
tive board of Wayland Academy, superintendent of Oakwood cemetery and 
president of the Masonic Temple Association. For seven years he served as 
chief of the fire department and for a similar period acted as president of the 
Wisconsin State Firemen's Association, while for thirty years he was secre- 
tary of the local hook and ladder company. Probably his most important work 
has been done as secretary of the Dodge County Fair, in which capacity he has 
been active in its management for twenty years, doing much to stimulate in- 
terest in the exhibits and encourage the spirit of friendly rivalry. For six 
years he has also been a member of the Wisconsin state board of agriculture. 

On the 30th of October, 1872, Mr. Harvey was joined in wedlock to Miss 
Mary M. Brown, a daughter of John P. and Laura Brown, of Newark, New 
Jersey. Mrs. Mary M. Harvey is one of a family of five children, the others 
being as follows : Laura A., of Beaver Dam ; Frank L.. who is a resident of 
Newark, New Jersey; William G., living in Whiting, Iowa; and Edwin P., 
a resident of Beaver Dam. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey had two children, namely: 
Eva, who passed away in 1905 when twenty-six years of age; and Ethel, who 
died in 1885, at the age of twelve. 

Mr. Harvey is a stanch democrat in politics and has served as mayor of 
Beaver Dam for five terms, discharging his official prerogatives in support of 
many measures of reform and improvement. During several terms' service as 
a member of the school board he did much to advance the cause of education. 
He belonged to the Wisconsin National Guard for one year. Fraternally he is 
identified with the Masons, belonging to Dodge County Lodge, No. 72, F. & 
A. M., the chapter, the commandery and the Eastern Star. His genial disposi- 
tion has made for him a circle of warm friends which is almost coextensive with 
the circle of his acquaintances. He possesses, moreover, those sterling traits 
of character which in every land and clime win confidence, respect and good- 
will, and by the consensus of public opinion he is accorded a prominent place 
among the valued citizens of Dodge county. 



JULIUS ROBERT SCHULTZ. 

Among the younger agriculturists who have been successful in their oc- 
cupation in Hubbard township is Julius Robert Schultz, a native of I.eroy town- 
ship, of German descent. The father, Fred Schultz, was born in the Ucker- 
mark, Germany, May 28, 1843, and came to this country in i860. At the out- 
break of the Civil war he was drafted for service but, as he was at that time 
not in possession of citizen's papers, could not enlist. For ten years he worked 
as a farm hand in Lcroy township and during this time, by strict economy, 
acquired the capital to invest in property of his own. He owned a farm in Le- 
roy township but later moved to Williamstown. He was a man prominent in 
the public life of the community in which he made his home and filled various 
town and school offices. He was married to Louisa Schnorstein, who was born 
in Williamstown, Dodge county, near Kekoskee, on June 4, 1846. 



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Julius R. Schultz was born May 8, 1870, and was reared at home. He at- 
tended the district and German schools in pursuit of an education. He was 
brought up and confirmed in the faith of the Lutheran church and has ever 
since been affiliated with this denomination. At the age of seventeen he began 
active life by working on his father's farm for one year, becoming acquainted 
with the various branches of agriculture and gaining a knowledge which has 
stood him in good stead ever since. He then left the parental roof and for the 
following fifteen years farmed upon rented land. At the end of that period he 
bought a farm in Clark county, which he successfully cultivated for seven years. 
He then traded his property for farm land in Chester township, where he re- 
mained for five years. Disposing of this farm, he came to his present place in 
Hubbard township, in 1909, and here he has been engaged in farming along 
modern and progressive lines and has greatly improved his property. He has 
remodeled the residence and other buildings, has his fields well fenced and has 
installed modern and up-to-date machinery to facilitate farm labor. Beside 
general farming he pays special attention to dairying and the products of his 
dairy have gained a high reputation on account of the sanitary and cleanly con- 
ditions which exist in his establishment. The appearance of the farm well in- 
dicates the labor expended upon it and the ability Mr. Schultz possesses. 

Mr. Schultz was married, February 3, 1891, to Miss Mary Gallie, who was 
born in Pennsylvania. Her father, Carl Gallie, was a native of Germany, born 
November 9, 1841, and came to America in the early part of 1869. The moth- 
er's maiden name was Rose Krueger, and she was also a native of the father- 
land and was married to Mr. Gallie there. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are the parents 
of three children: Louisa, who was born October 20, 1891, and died in infancy; 
Albert, born March 2, 1896; and Carl, born December 13, 1902. 

The family attend the Lutheran church and in politics Mr. Schultz is in- 
dependent, preferring to support men and measures irrespective of party, as 
his judgment dictates. Although he is not actively connected with political or 
public matters, he takes that interest in the general welfare which any high- 
minded citizen should. Along agricultural lines he has achieved a decided suc- 
cess, which not only secures gratifying financial results but plays an important 
part in the general agricultural development of this section. His farm is one 
of the model places in Hubbard township and its appearance speaks well for 
the ability of its owner. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz have by their kindly ways ac- 
quired many friends and are highly esteemed by all who know them. 



CARL PIEPER. 

Carl Pieper, who has lived retired in Horicon since 1903, was in former 
years actively and successfully identified with general agricultural pursuits in 
Dodge county and still owns an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres in Oak Grove township. His birth occurred in the province of Pommern, 
Germany, on the 31st of December, 1855, his parents being Carl and Eliza 
Pieper, who spent their entire lives in that country. He obtained his education 
in the schools of the fatherland and at the early age of ten years began provid- 



136 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ing for his own support. When a youth of sixteen, attracted by the favorable 
reports which he had heard concerning the advantages and opportunities of 
the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and came direct to 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, working as a farm hand in Hustisford township for 
eight years. On the expiration of that period, having accumulated sufficient 
capital by dint of careful economy, Tie purchased a tract of land in Hubbard 
township and was busily engaged in its cultivation for seventeen years. At the 
end of that time he disposed of the property and bought a farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Oak Grove township, devoting his attention to its op- 
eration until the fall of 1903. At that time he purchased a home in Horicon. 
where he has since lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil in well 
earned ease. The farm of one hundred and twenty acres is still in his posses- 
sion but for the past nine years he has leased the property. His record is in- 
deed a creditable one, illustrating the power of industry and energy in the 
attainment of success. He was unable to speak a word of English at the time 
of his arrival in this country but eventually mastered the language and as the 
years passed worked his way steadily upward to a position among the respected 
and substantial citizens of his community. 

In November, 1879, Mr. Pieper was united in marriage to Miss Amelia 
Swandt, who was born in Germany in July, 1857, her parents being August and 
Carrie Swandt. They emigrated to America about 1864, locating first in Oak 
Grove township, this county and later in Hubbard township, where Mrs. 
Swandt passed away some years afterward. August Swandt died in the home 
of our subject at Horicon. Mr. and Mrs. Pieper have two children, as follows: 
Helen, who is the wife of George Lehman, an agriculturist residing in Oak 
Grove township; and Louis, living with his parents, who is a fireman in the 
employ of the St. Paul Railroad. 

Mr. Pieper is a stalwart democrat in politics but his aspirations have not 
been in the line of office holding. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, belong- 
ing to the church of that denomination at Horicon. The hope that led him 
to leave his native land and seek a home in America has been more than realized. 
He found the opportunities he sought, which, by the way, are always open 
to the ambitious, energetic man, and making the best of these he has steadily 
worked his way upward. He possesses the resolution, perseverance and re- 
liability so characteristic of his nation, and his name is now enrolled among the 
best citizens of Dodge county, where he has resided for more than four decades. 



JAMES J. FREEMAN. 

James J. Freeman, superintendent of the foundry of the Van firunt Manu- 
facturing Company, is one of Horicon's native sons, his birth having occurred 
on the 22d of August, 1865. His parents were John and Catherine (Crine) 
Freeman, both of whom were born in County Sligo, Ireland, the father's natal 
day being the 23d of December, 1818, and that of the mother February 6, 1824. 
They were reared and married in the land of their birth, where the father 
learned the tailor's trade. In the early years of their married life they came to 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



137 



the United States, locating in Milwaukee, where the father worked at his 
trade. Later they removed to Horicon, and here he continued to follow tail- 
oring until shortly prior to his death, which occurred in 1899. He had long 
survived the mother, who passed away in 1870. Our subject is the youngest of 
seven children. 

James J. Freeman, who was a lad of but five years when his mother passed 
away, was reared at home and educated in the graded and high schools of Hori- 
con. which he attended until he was a youth of thirteen years. Laying aside 
his schoolbooks he then entered the Van Brunt & Davis Foundry in the capacity 
of an apprentice. He continued in their service until they removed their plant 
to St. Louis Park, Minnesota, in 1892, when he removed to Illinois. The suc- 
ceeding five years he spent at various points in that state, subsequently going to 
St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He remained there for about ten years, as an 
employe of the Monitor Manufacturing Company, and then returned to Hori- 
con. resuming his connection with the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company. 
Mr. Freeman is thoroughly familiar with all of the details of his trade and in 
addition to his skill in this direction possesses high executive power, and is 
a thoroughly trustworthy and reliable man of business. 

The religious faith of Mr. Freeman is manifested in his membership in the 
Roman Catholic church. Ever since granted the right of franchise, upon the 
attainment of his majority, he has given his unqualified support to the men and 
measures of the republican party, believing that the principles of this body are 
best adapted to subserve the interests of the working man. Mr. Freeman is 
unmarried. He has acquired a very pleasant modern residence in which he 
makes his home, and has through his thrift and diligence acquired a comfortable 
competence. 



JOSEPH J. NEUMAN. 

Joseph J. Neuman, who is conducting a plumbing and heating establish- 
ment, is one of the native sons of Beaver Dam, born in 1874. His parents, 
Martin and Pauline Neuman, were natives of Germany and after coming to the 
new world established their home in this city. The father is a butcher by trade 
but is now living on a tract of land near the county seat. 

Joseph J. Neuman was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine chil- 
dren, and after acquiring a good education in the parochial schools he began 
learning the plumbing trade, thoroughly mastering the business in principle and 
detail so that he was well qualified to carry on an establishment of his own 
when his savings justified him in opening a store in 1897. Ten years later he 
removed to his present quarters at No. 1 19 Front street, where he has a modern 
establishment, doing all kinds of work in the plumbing and heating line. He 
lias had important contracts awarded him in this connection and his patronage 
is steadily growing. 

On the 21st of November, 1900, Mr. Neuman was married to Miss Rose 
Voreck, of Beaver Dam, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Voreck. Their two 
children are Leonard and Mary. The parents are members of St. Peter's Catho- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



lie church and Mr. Neuman belongs to the Knights of Columbus. There have 
been no exciting chapters in Mr. Neuman's life record but industry has paved 
the way to success and he is now at the head of a profitable and growing busi- 



EDWARD FREEMAN. 

The late Edward Freeman, for many years a foreman in the Van Brunt 
Manufacturing Company' at Horicon, was a native of Milwaukee, this state, his 
birth occurring on the 15th of August, 1850. He was one of seven children 
born to John and Catherine (Crine) Freeman. The parents were born, reared 
and married in County Sligo, Ireland, the father's natal day being the 23d of 
December, 1818, and that of the mother, February 6, 1824. They emigrated to 
the United States in the early days of their domestic life, first settling in Mil- 
waukee. There the father, who was a tailor, followed his trade until 1856, 
when he removed with his family to Horicon, where he continued to engage in 
tailoring until shortly prior to his death, which occurred m 1899. He had long 
survived the mother, who passed away in 1870. 

Edward Freeman was a child of only six years when he accompanied hts 
parents on their removal to Horicon. Here he was reared, obtaining his edu- 
cation in the public schools, in which he continued his studies until he was a 
youth of thirteen years. He then laid aside his text-books and became an ap- 
prentice in the foundry of the Van Brunt Company, with whom he remained 
for three years. At the expiration of that time he obtained a position in Fond 
du Lac, going from there to Milwaukee, following which he worked for a time 
at various points in Illinois and Iowa. After an absence of about seven years 
he returned home, obtaining a position in the Van Brunt factory. He was 
shortly promoted to the place of foreman, continuing to hold this position until 
his death, which occurred on the 16th of February, 191 2. 

On the 21st of October, 1873, Mr. Freeman was united in marriage to Miss 
Anna Kennedy, who was born in Brookfield, Waukesha county, this state, 
on the 7th of August, 1851. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Gardner) 
Kennedy, both natives of Ireland, the father having been born in County Tip- 
perary and the mother in County Limerick. They were pioneer settlers in 
Waukesha county, where the father, who was a carpenter, followed his trade 
until 1857. He then removed to Fond du Lac with his family, and there two 
years later he passed away. After his death the mother continued to make her 
home in Fond du Lac for some years, but later came to live with her daughter, 
Mrs. Freeman, at whose residence she passed away in 1902. Of the four chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Freeman, who is the eldest, is the 
only one now living. The others were as follows : Mary, James and John. The 
family of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman numbered three: Katherine, who is a teacher 
in the second grade of the Horicon schools ; Edward T., a foreman in the core 
room of the plow works at La Crosse, Wisconsin, who married Mary Redmond, 
of De Kalb, Illinois, and has two daughters, Anna and Nellie; and William J., 
a mechanical engineer <mploycd by the state railroad commission at Madison. 



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Mr. Freeman was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, as is also 
his widow and children. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Catholic Knights 
of Wisconsin, being a charter member of the Horicon lodge. His allegiance in 
matters politic he gave to the democratic party and at one time represented his 
ward in the council. He was an industrious man of good principles and many 
estimable qualities, who was held in high regard by his fellow townsmen, many 
of whom had known him from boyhood. 



HENRY RICIIARDT. 

Many are the valuable citizens who have come from Germany to the United 
States to help in the pioneer labor of developing the resources of this country, 
and of the "many who came and have made their mark in various professions 
and vocations none have been more important than those sturdy German farm- 
ers who have so largely contributed to prosperity and development by their 
industry, patience, thriftiness and energy. Henry Richardt was born in the 
province of Pomerania, Germany, September 23, 1858, a son of John Richardt, 
who was born in the same province on the 27th of November, 1823, and 
Ernestina (Schleicher) Richardt, born in the same province^ December 22, 
1827. John Richardt came with his family to America in 1868. After working 
for two years as a farm hand he bought the property in Hubbard township, 
this county, on which our subject now resides. The father cleared and im- 
proved the land which he had acquired and gradually brought the same under 
cultivation. He was successful in his pursuits, being ably assisted by his son 
and operating the farm until 1900, when he passed away. His wife had died 
two years before. 

Henry Richardt received his education largely in the schools of his native 
country and completed the same after arriving in the United States. He as- 
sisted his father with the work on the farm and became acquainted with the 
various branches of agriculture and stock-raising. He thus acquired valuable 
knowledge which stood him in good stead when he began the cultivation of this 
property independently. In 1900 he took charge of the farm and has operated 
the same successfully ever since. He employs up-to-date and modern methods 
in the cultivation of the soil and follows scientific lines in raising his stock. 
He has improved and bettered the property since he has managed the same and 
the result of his industry and ability as a farmer is plainly seen by its appear- 
ance. 

On the 28th of May, 1888, Mr. Richardt was united in marriage to Miss Al- 
bertina Wersonskie, who was born in Theresa township, May 24, 1866. Her 
parents, Mr. and Mrs. August Wersonskie were natives of Germany, born in 
the province of Pomerania. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Richardt: Willie, February 19, 1889; Arthur, September 13, 1893; and Esther, 
December 22, 1903. 

The family affiliate with the Lutheran church, to which they give their 
moral and material support. Mr. Richardt's political views coincide with the 
democratic party and, although he has not been active in politics, he takes that 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



laudable interest in public matters which is the duty of every high-minded citi- 
zen. His labors have been of benefit not only to himself but have in large meas- 
ure contributed to the general agricultural development of the section in which 
he resides. Mr. and Mrs. Richardt enjoy an extensive acquaintance in Hubbard 
township and are accorded universal esteem. 



CHRISTIAN F. WILLIAM GRIEPENTROG. 

Christian F. William Griepentrog, an esteemed citizen and representative 
agriculturist of Oak Grove township, is the owner of an excellent farm of one 
hundred and six acres but is no longer actively engaged in its operation, having 
turned over the work of the fields to his son, Otto. His birth occurred in Stet- 
tin, Germany, on the 14th of October, 1853, his parents being Ernst and Fred- 
erica (Tesch) Griepentrog, who were likewise natives of that place. The father 
was born on the 2d of February, 1824, while the mother's natal day was March 
22, 1830. Ernst Griepentrog served in the regular army of his native land and 
worked for others during his active business career. His demise occurred in 
the city of Berlin in November, 1862. In August of the following year his widow 
emigrated to the United States with her three children, coming direct to Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and locating in Theresa township. She was married a second 
time, becoming the wife of Charles Buchda, who owned a farm in Theresa 
township and operated the same until he retired and removed to Juneau, where 
his demise occurred about 1894. His widow now makes her home with our 
subject. 

C. F. W. Griepentrog, who was a lad of ten years when he came to this 
country with his widowed mother, attended the district schools of Theresa town- 
ship and also pursued a course of study in a German parochial school of that 
township. When a youth of seventeen he secured employment as a farm hand 
and thus worked for eight years. On the expiration of that period, having care- 
fully saved his earnings, he purchased sixty-six acres of land on section 34, Oak 
Grove township, and started out as an agriculturist on his own account. He has 
since extended the boundaries of his farm by additional purchase and it now 
embraces one hundred and six acres of valuable and productive land. He erected 
all of the buildings which stand upon the property and added all of the improve- 
ments and conveniences of a model farm. For a number of years he devoted 
his time and energies to its operation but is now living retired and leases the 
place to his son, Otto, who performs the work of the fields. He served as sec- 
retary of the Oak Grove Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company for twelve 
years, and is president of the Essman cheese factory, located near his home. 

On the 10th of October, 1878, Mr. Griepentrog was united in marriage to 
Miss Minnie Schuenka, who was born in Herman township, this county, on the 
19th of February, 1853, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. Carl Schuenka, natives 
of the province of Pommern, Germany. They emigrated to the United States 
about 1846, locating in Herman township, this county, where Mr. Schuenka was 
killed about 1854, while clearing the logs from a homestead. His widow remained 
in Herman township for a number of years, then sold the home farm and re- 



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moved to Burnett township, where she passed away some years later. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Griepentrog have been born nine children, as follows: Emma, whose 
birth occurred on the 5th of July, 1879, an d who is the wife of Frank Zieroth, 
a farmer residing in Barron county, Wiscorisin; Charles, born July 6, 1880, who 
is a mason living at Benson, Nebraska ; Emil, Ludwig, Ferdinand and Amanda, 
all of whom are deceased; Otto, whose birth occurred on the 12th of September, 
1889, and who resides on the old homestead ; William, whose natal day was Jan- 
uary 3, 1892, and who lives in Herman township; and Ida, who was born Feb- 
ruary 6, 1894, and is still under the parental roof. 

Mr. Griepentrog is a democrat in politics and has served on the school board 
for three or four terms, while at the present time he is acting as treasurer of the 
district school board. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in St. 
John's Lutheran church at Juneau. He has continuously resided within the 
borders of Dodge county since coming here about a half century ago. Faithful 
at all times to the duties devolving upon him and strong in his advocacy of all 
measures which tend toward the material, intellectual and moral development 
of the community, he has, by his own upright life and manly principles, gained 
the admiration and respect of all who know him and his circle of warm friends 
is almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances. 



HERMAN SCHWANTES. 

Actively engaged in agricultural pursuits on a 'well developed farm in Oak 
Grove township Herman Schwantes has won success in the line which he has 
chosen as his life work, for his efforts have at all times been characterized by a 
spirit of progress and by indefatigable energy and intelligently applied labor. 
His birth occurred in the province of Pommern, Germany, on the 4th of May, 
1868, his parents being August and Amelia (Schultz) Schwantes, of whom more 
extended mention is made on other pages of this work in connection with the 
sketches of Henry VV. and Albert Schwantes, brothers of our subject. In early 
life Herman Schwantes was brought by his parents to the United States, the 
family home being established in Dodge county, Wisconsin. In the acquirement 
of an education he attended a German school in Hustisford township and for 
two months studied in a district school near Hartford. When a youth of fifteen 
he began working as a farm hand, being thus employed until twenty-five years 
of age. At that time he rented a tract of land in Hustisford township, being 
busily engaged in its cultivation for six years, while subsequently he operated 
a rented farm in Oak Grove township for a similar period. He then pur- 
chased a farm of eighty-nine acres on section 27, Oak Grove township, and has 
since devoted his time and attention to its further development and improve- 
ment, bringing the fields under a high state of cultivation. He has erected mod- 
ern and substantial buildings and has equipped his place with all accessories 
necessary for facilitating farm labor, everything about it indicating that he has 
kept in touch with the spirit of progress which is manifested in agricultural 
lines. Mr. Schwantes makes a specialty of breeding Holstein cattle for a select 
market and ships them to all parts of the country. He is a stockholder in the 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Essman cheese factory, which is located near his farm, one mile south of the 
city limits of Juneau. 

On the 5th of October, 1893, Mr. Schwantes was joined in wedlock to Miss 
Minnie Reichow, who was born in Hustisford township, this county, on the 17th 
of February, 1873, her parents being Frederich and Henrietta Reichow, na- 
tives of Germany. They emigrated to the United States at an early day and 
settled first in Oak Grove township, Dodge county, while about two years later 
they removed to Hustisford, where Mr. Reichow passed away October 8, 
1897. His widow, who still survives, makes her home in the town of Hustis- 
ford. Frederich Reichow had served in the regular army while in Germany. 
Mrs. Schwantes is the youngest of six children born to her parents, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of six children, as follows: Edwin, whose 
birth occurred on the 23d of February, 1895 ; Hilbert, whose natal day was July 
11, 1B98; Cora, who was born October 20, 1900; Elmer, whose birth occurred on 
the 13th of June, 1903; Renata, born August 26, 1906; and Dorothy, born No- 
vember 11, 1909 

In politics Mr. Schwantes is a democrat but his aspirations have not been 
in the line of office holding. He is a devoted member of the Lutheran church 
at Juneau and exemplifies its teachings in his daily conduct. That his life has at 
all times commanded the high respect which is uniformly tendered him is indi- 
cated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known 
him from his boybood to the present time. 



August H. Seifert, who is known as one of the most progressive and suc- 
cessful agriculturists of Oak Grove township, owns an excellent farm of eighty 
acres on section 14. His birth occurred in Hustisford township, Dodge county, 
on the 14th of April, 1877, his parents being August and Augusta (Berge- 
man) Seifert, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was born 
on the 22d of June, 1834, while the mother's natal day was September 1, 1843. 
Their marriage was celebrated in Hustisford township, this county. August 
Seifert accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States when 
about fifteen years of age, the family coming direct to Dodge county, Wiscon- 
sin, and locating on a farm in Hustisford township. In that township he grew 
to manhood and became a landowner, continuing to reside there until 1884, 
when he purchased and located on a farm two miles northeast of Juneau, which 
is now in possession of our subject and where he passed away on the 17th of 
January, 191 1. His surviving widow now lives with her son Julius on an adjoin- 
ing farm. Mr. Seifert, who enlisted in the Union army in 1861, served with a 
Wisconsin regiment for three years and four months and was fortunate in that 
he was never wounded. He held various local offices and was widely recognized 
as an influential and esteemed citizen of the county, within the borders of which 
he resided for about six decades. 

In the acquirement of an education August H. Seifert attended a German 
school at Juneau and the district schools of Oak Grove township. He remained 



AUGUST H. SEIFERT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



143 



under the parental roof until thirty years of age and then became the owner 
of the farm on which he now resides and which at that time embraced one hun- 
dred acres. Recently, however, he sold twenty acres of the tract. His farm 
is one of the best equipped in Oak Grove township, the buildings thereon being 
modern and comparatively new. He devotes his attention to general farming 
and has met with success in his undertakings, annually gathering rich harvests 
which find a ready sale on the market. He is likewise a stockholder in the 
cheese factory at Juneau. 

On the 6th of June, 1906, Mr. Seifert was united in marriage to Miss Emma 
Horn, who was born in Herman township, this county, on the 23d of November, 
1879, her parents being Charles and Wilhelmina (Bellack) Horn, both natives 
of Germany. The father's natal day was July 3, 1840, while the mother's birth 
occurred on the 20th of March, 1847. They reside in Woodland, Dodge county, 
where for twenty-seven years Mr. Horn was engaged in the lumber business. 

In his political views Mr. Seifert is a republican, loyally supporting the men 
and measures of that party but never seeking office as a reward for his fealty. 
In religious faith he is a Lutheran, belonging to the church of that denomination 
at Juneau. Both he and his wife have always lived in this county and well 
merit the regard and esteem which is uniformly accorded them. 



ALBERT ALPHONSE BERTEL. 

Albert Alphonse Bertel, who devotes his attention to the pursuits of gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising, is the owner of eighty-eight acres of land on 
section 15, Oak Grove township. His birth occurred in Alsace, France, on the 
10th of November, 185 1, his parents being John and Mary Bertel, who spent 
their entire lives in that country. The father followed farming throughout his 
active business career. 

Albert A. Bertel obtained his education in the schools of his native land 
and when a youth of nineteen crossed the Atlantic to the United States, first 
working as a blacksmith in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and later being employed 
in locomotive works for about two years. In 1875 ne came to Reeseville, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and secured employment on a farm near Lowell, working 
for others until the time of his marriage. Following that important event in his 
life he rented a farm in Clyman township and devoted his attention to its op- 
eration for three years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Oak 
Grove township and purchased a farm south of Juneau, where he continued to 
reside for fourteen years. After disposing of the property he spent three years 
on a farm north of Juneau, then sold the place and bought a tract of eighty- 
eight acres inside the city limits, which he has cultivated to the present time. 
In connection with the production of cereals he devotes considerable attention 
to stock-raising and in both branches of his business has won success. He is 
likewise a stockholder in the Juneau Cheese & Butter Company and well de- 
serves recognition among the substantial and respected citizens of the com- 
munity. 

On the 3d of February, 1880. Mr. Bertel was joined in wedlock to Miss 



144 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mary Neis, who was born in Clyman township, Dodge county, on the 20th of 
January, 1863, her parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Spohn) Neis, also na- 
tives of this county. Her father was engaged in business as a blacksmith of 
Clyman for a number of years and subsequently took up his abode in Ham- 
mond, Indiana, where his demise occurred in February, 1912. His first wife 
passed away some years ago. He later married Miss Helen Einsle and fol- 
lowing her death he was again married and is survived by his third wife. Jacob 
Neis was the father of fourteen children. To Mr. and Mrs. Bertel have been 
born eight children, as follows: George and Ella, both at home; Peter and an 
infant daughter, who are deceased; and Thomas, James, Clara and Albert, who 
are also yet under the parental roof. 

In politics Mr. Bertel is a democrat and for two terms he has served as 
township treasurer, making a creditable record in that capacity. He is a de- 
vout communicant of the Roman Catholic church and has been identified with 
the Catholic Knights since 1890. He has been a resident of this county for 
thirty-seven years and is well known within its borders, while the circle of his 
friends is a wide one. 



Thomas J. Herrick, one of the well known and highly respected citizens 
of Oak Grove township, has resided continuously, for more than half a century, 
on an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 12, formerly 
owned by his father-in-law, James Anderson. Mr. Herrick's birth occurred at 
Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of November, 1829, his parents being 
Job and Hannah (Cummings) Herrick. The father was born at Plainfield, 
Connecticut, in 1776, while the mother was a native of Bennington, Vermont. 
Job Herrick became one of the early merchants of Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, 
and for a number of years was engaged in business there. For some years 
prior to his demise, which occurred in 1853, he lived on a farm near Lawrence- 
ville. Unto him and his wife were born twelve children, only two of whom sur- 
vive, the sister of our subject, Mrs. Jeancttc Smith, being a resident of Spo- 
kane, Washington. 

Thomas J. Herrick obtained his education in his native town and when about 
fifteen years of age started out in life as an agriculturist on his own account 
and with the assistance of other members of the family paid off a mortgage on 
the home farm. It was in 1854 that he came to Wisconsin, locating first at 
Waukesha, where he worked as a molder for two years. On the expiration of 
that period he took up his abode in Horicon, Dodge county, being the very first 
representative of that line of work here. He was engaged in business in part- 
nership with William M. Jones, under the firm style of Jones & Herrick, for two 
and a half years. At the end of that time he sold out and took up his abode on 
the farm of one hundred and twenty acres which has remained his home con- 
tinuously since. He has brought the fields under a high state of cultivation, 
and all of the improvements on the property stand as monuments to his thrift 
and enterprise. In his undertakings as an agriculturist he has won a gratifying 



THOMAS J. HERRICK. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



145 



measure of success and he has long been numbered among the substantial and 
esteemed citizens of the community. 

On the 4th of December, 1858, Mr. Herrick was married to Miss Marion 
J. Anderson, who was born in Lorain county, Ohio, October 20, 1837, 
her parents being James and Amanda (Norton) Anderson, natives of Vermont 
and Connecticut respectively. James Anderson, an agriculturist by occupation, 
removed from Vermont to Ohio, thence came to Wisconsin and joined the earliest 
settlers of Dodge county in 1843, taking up his abode on the farm which is now 
in possession of our subject and on which he and his wife spent the remainder 
of their lives. He served in the War of 1812 and for a number of years held 
the office of justice of the peace in Oak Grove township and an elder of the Pres- 
byterian church at Horicon, and also a charter member of the same. He passed 
away at the age of ninety-six years, while his wife was called to her final rest 
when ninety-eight years old. To Mr. and Mrs. Herrick were born five children, 
two of whom still survive, namely: Ralph, who is a farmer living near Eau 
Claire, Wisconsin ; and Albert, who resides with his father. Albert Herrick is 
a skilled musician, having studied under Professor Richard Hardege of Water- 
town, following which he took a two and one-half years' course under Ceaser 
Thomson at Brussels, Belgium. Mrs. Herrick passed away in September, 1905. 

At the polls Mr. Herrick has ever supported the men and measures of the 
republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good govern- 
ment. He has served as a member of the township board for two terms but 
his aspirations have not been in the line of office holding. Fraternally he is 
identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has now passed the 
eighty- third milestone on life's journey and enjoys the veneration and respect 
which should ever be accorded one who has traveled thus far on this earthly 
pilgrimage and whose career has been at all times upright and honorable. 



LAWRENCE N. FLANNIGAN. 

Lawrence N. Flannigan, well known as a representative of the banking 
interests of Beaver Dam, being president of the Farmers State Bank and also 
interested extensively in land and mining, was born in the town of Mitchell, 
Wisconsin, in February, 1856, a son of William and Margaret (Sheridan) Flan- 
nigan, the former a farmer in comfortable circumstances. The father of Mrs. 
Flannigan and the father of General Phil Sheridan were own cousins, the an- 
cestors of each coming from Ireland. 

Lawrence N. Flannigan acquired his education in the public schools and at 
the age of sixteen left his father's home, going into the lumber woods, where he 
established a logging business on his own account. With the energy and ambition 
peculiar to a bright young man, he made rapid progress and from the outset 
of his business career has gradually worked his way upward. He possessed the 
faculty of recognizing and utilizing opportunities, seeing what enterprises gave 
promise of success, and possessed also the courage and promptness to make 
each hour count for the utmost, combined with determination and perseverance 
to carry forward his plans to a successful conclusion. As the years have passed 



146 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



he has made use of opportunity for profitable investment and is now the owner 
of valuable pine lands in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Arkansas. He 
is also interested in valuable mining properties in Michigan and Colorado. His 
holdings include a large stock farm in Minnesota, where he raises some of the 
finest stock to be found in that state. At one time he was the owner of the 
Spring Brook Farm near Burnett, Wisconsin, and occupied it for eight years but 
six years ago disposed of that property and removed to Beaver Dam. Here he 
figures prominently in financial circles as the first president of the Farmers State 
Bank, which was established in 191 1. As an investor he had previously dis- 
played keen discrimination and sound judgment and these qualities have been 
manifest as well in the control of the bank of which he is now the head. 

In September, 1888, Mr. Flannigan was married to Miss Lucy Good, a daugh- 
ter of George Good, of Oconto. Wisconsin, and they now have two daughters, 
Marian and Helen Mildred, both of whom were educated in Prairie du Chien, 
Wisconsin. Marian was graduated from St. Mary's Academy in 1908 and 
completed a course in the State Normal School at Oshkosh in 1910, since which 
time she has been engaged in teaching. She expects, however, to continue her 
studies at the University of Wisconsin. Helen is a graduate of St. Mary's 
Academy, 1910, and of the Oshkosh Normal School with the class of 191?. 

The religious faith of Mr. Flannigan is that of the Catholic church, while 
his wife is a member of the Episcopal church. He holds membership with the 
Catholic Knights and also with the Knights of Pythias. His political support 
has usually been given to the democratic party but in 1896 he supported the 
gold wing of the party, voting for Palmer for president. He has never been 
ambitious for office, refusing to accept honors of that kind, preferring always 
to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which have ever been of 
an extensive and important character, constituting the basis of his present well 
earned success and prosperity. He has the high regard and confidence of his 
colleagues and contemporaries in the business world and has made a most credit- 
able record since starting out in the lumber woods for himself when a youth 
of sixteen years. 



MICHAEL E. BURKE. 

Political success requires for its accomplishment more than ordinary ability. 
It is dependent upon many outside elements and is intimately connected with 
the standards and conditions of the times. Consequently, the men who have the 
ability to judge correctly and estimate the popular sentiment and to comprehend 
the ideals and ambitions of the people have the most solid foundation for promi- 
nence in politics. To make this prominence lasting, however, they must com- 
bine with their good judgment definite work and attainment, integrity of character, 
sincerity of purpose and a public spirit which is never self-seeking. Michael E. 
Hurke, attorney at law in Beaver Dam and one of the greatest individual forces 
in the political life of Wisconsin, is a man of this class, an active worker in the 
general interests, broad-minded, able and shrewdly efficient, and he has in con- 
sequence been rewarded by many important offices within the gift of the people 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



149 



of his state. He has served as state representative, state senator and United 
States congressman, and during the many years of his public life no trust 
reposed in him has ever been neglected or betrayed. He was born in the city 
in which he now resides October 15, 1863, and is a son of Michael and Ellen 
(Foley) Burke, natives of Ireland. His father was born in County Tipperary 
in 1805 and came to America in 1857, settling in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. After 
his rr.arri.-ige, which occurred in 1861, he moved upon a farm east of the city, 
near Drakes Mill, or Crystal Lake, and this he developed and improved until 
his death, in October, 1892. His wife had long preceded him, for she died in 
March, 1868. To their union were born two children: Mary, whose birth 
occurred in 1865 and who married David Candell, of Eau Claire ; and Michael 
F.., of this review. 

The last named received his primary education in the district schools of 
Beaver Dam township and supplemented this by a course in Wayland Academy. 
After he was graduated from this institution he entered the offices of Judge 
Fdwarc! Elwell in Beaver Dam and studied law. He completed his legal course 
in the State University at Madison and was admitted to the bar of Wisconsin 
February 14, 1888. For a short time he taught in the district schools but finally 
located in the city, where he has practiced for twenty-four years. His unusual 
success is the best proof of his ability. He has beeh retained in connection with 
most of the important litigation in the courts of the district and has conserved 
the interests of his clients in a forceful and able way. He is recognized as a 
strong and capable practitioner, with a mind in which keen logic and acute dis- 
crimination unite with power and resourcefulness in the coordination of details, 
and his practice has expanded rapidly in proportion to his growing accomplish- 
ments. 

As is often the case, Mr. Burke's legal success has carried with it prominence 
in politics and his public duties have grown to be one of the important interests 
of his life. His political career began in Beaver Dam when he was elected town 
clerk and served with ability and conscientiousness for two terms. In the state 
legislature he became connected with many of the most important committees 
and in the session of 1891 he served as chairman of the committee on legislative 
expenditures and in the session of 1893 was chairman of the assembly com- 
mittee on judiciary, and thus he extended his usefulness to his constituents by 
enlarging the field of his activity. His record in office was so fine an example 
of true political accomplishment that in 1894 he was elected to the state senate 
and served for four years in that body. Here also he continued active in the 
very center of state government, serving on the committees on roads and bridges 
and on town and county organizations. In 1893 he had been elected city attorney 
of Eeaver Dam and for fifteen consecutive annual terms has been returned to 
that offke. his long service being the most complete proof of his ability. He 
has twice served as mayor of Beaver Dam. Gradually by earnest, straight- 
forward and forceful work Mr. Burke has become identified with more important 
political affairs, for while serving his second term as mayor he was elected a 
member of the sixty-second United States congress on the democratic ticket 
from the sixth congressional district of Wisconsin. He served as a member of 
the committees on merchant marine and fisheries and invalid pensions, and in 
November, 191 2, was reelected over his republican opponent by a majority of 
five thousand, nine hundred and sixty-seven. 

Vol. 1I-B 



150 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. Burke married, on February 28, 1898, Miss Emma Sontag, a daughter 
of William Sontag, of Winneconne, Wisconsin, and both are well known in 
social circles of Beaver Dam. In his law practice Mr. Burke is the senior mem- 
ber of the firm of Burke & Lueck and has gained prosperity and distinction in 
this field. He is one of the most prominent men in the public life of the city at 
the present time. For over twenty years his activities have been individual forces 
in the establishment and development of political standards and in the growth 
and progress of Wisconsin along political lines. He has reached the point in 
his career where politics have become statesmanship, for his remarkable talents 
have always been exerted for the public welfare without regard to personal ends. 



Julius C Fischer is residing on ninety-six acres of land near Juneau and gives 
his entire time to general farming. He was born in Ixonia, Jefferson county, 
September 2, 1859, a son of Fred and Minnie (Groth) Fischer. His father was 
born in Germany and came to America about 1855, settling in Milwaukee, where 
he remained only a short time. Later he went to Ixonia and purchased a farm 
which he improved and operated until about the year 1875, when he disposed 
of his holdings and purchased land near LeRoy upon which he resided for some 
time. Eventually he retired from active life and moved to Milwaukee, where 
he died January 21, 1912. His wife passed away at LeRoy, February 3, 1886. 

Julius Fischer is the oldest of a family of ten children. He attended the 
public schools at LeRoy and remained at home until he was twenty-one years 
of age. At that time he obtained employment and for two years worked out 
upon neighboring farms. At the end of that time in association with his father 
he operated the home farm and remained upon it for five years. He then bought 
eighty acres of land in Jefferson county near LeRoy and operated and improved 
it for twelve years. Disposing of this property he went to Ixonia, where for 
two years he engaged in carpenter work. He moved to Milwaukee at the end 
of that time and after a short period in the same line of occupation he pur- 
chased the farm upon which he now resides. The land is in excellent condition, 
well improved and intelligently developed, and its owner has won recognition 
as an able and successful farmer. 

Mr. Fischer has been twice married. On May 7, 1885, he wedded Miss 
Anna Krug, who was born in Germany, March 17, 1862, a daughter of August 
and Minnie Krug, natives of the fatherland. They came to America in their 
early years and settled in Williamstown township, where the father carried on 
farming for some time. He later moved to Oconomowoc, where he died. His 
wife passed away some years previously in Williamstown township. Mr. Fisch- 
er's first wife died on the 19th of October, 1903, leaving one son, Alfred, who 
was born June 21, 1886, and resides with his father. On January t, 1906, Mr. 
Fischer married Miss Anna Puis, who was born in Manitowoc, January 21, 
1879, a daughter of Fred and Mary (Fraizen) Puis, the former a native of 
Germany and the latter of Manitowoc. Fred Puis came to America with his 



JULIUS C. FISCHER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



151 



parents when he was nine years of age and settled in Manitowoc where he grew 
to manhood. He served in the Civil war, as a member of a Wisconsin regiment 
and was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg. After his discharge he returned 
to Manitowoc and gradually became an extensive land owner. Upon his retire- 
ment he moved to Milwaukee where he died April 5, 1908. His wife is residing 
in that city. 

Mr. Fischer gives his allegiance to the republican party but has never sought 
political office, preferring to give his entire time to the management of his farm, 
which is evidence of his success. 



AUGUST C. ERDMANN. 

August C. Erdmann, a representative and successful agriculturist of Oak 
Grove township, is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 
14, comprising one of the best improved farms in the township. His birth 
occurred in Herman township, this county, on the 5th of February, 1873, his 
parents being Ferdinand and Christina (Knospe) Erdmann, both of whom are 
natives of Germany. The father was born in the province of Pommern on the 
4th of February, 1845, while the mother's birth occurred at Oderbruch on the 
23d of December, 1848. In 1857 Ferdinand Erdmann accompanied his parents 
on their emigration to the new world, the family home being established on a 
farm in Herman township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and here he grew to man- 
hood. He became an agriculturist and extensive landowner and continued to 
reside in Herman township until 1 901, when he turned his holdings over to his 
sons and went to live with our subject. The period of his residence in this county 
covers fifty-five years and he enjoys a wide and favorable acquaintance within 
its borders. For the past eleven years he and his wife have lived with their son 
August. They were the parents of six children, four of whom still survive, 
as follows: Emil, who follows farming in Herman township; August C. of this 
review; Charles, an agriculturist of Rubicon township; and Henrietta, the wife 
of August Gentz, who follows farming in Herman township. 

August C. Erdmann obtained his education in the schools of his native town- 
ship and when not busy with his text-books assisted his father in the work of 
the home farm, thus early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that 
fall to the lot of the agriculturist. When twenty-three years of age he bought 
land in Herman township and there carried on his farming interests until 1901, 
when he sold out and purchased the tract of one hundred and sixty acres in 
Oak Grove township on which he now resides. He has erected modern build- 
ings and has made other substantial improvements on the property, which is 
now one of the best equipped farms in the township. In connection with the 
cultivation of cereals he makes a specialty of the breeding of Holstein stock 
for dairy purposes. He is likewise a stockholder in the Chicago Universal Sup- 
ply Company and the Cooperative Mercantile Association at Juneau. 

On the 15th of August, 1901, Mr. Erdmann was united in marriage to Miss 
Alma Dowe, who was born in Hubbard township, this county, on the 9th of 
January, 1881, her parents being Ernst and Mary (Plageman) Dowe. The 



152 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



father's birth occurred in Oderbruch, Germany, September 19, 1841, while the 
mother was born in the province of Bromoborg, Germany, January 7, 1846, and 
came to the United States in 1847 w ' tn her parents, who settled at Iron Ridge. 
Ernst Dowe emigrated to the United States about 1856, locating first near May- 
ville, Wisconsin. Subsequently he took up his abode in Hubbard township, this 
county, and at the present time is living retired at Iron Ridge. He served as a 
member of Company K, Fifty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the 
Civil war, enlisting in 1865, and he now receives a pension. Mr. and Mrs. Dowe 
were the parents of five children : Ernst, who lives at Beaver Dam ; Lizzie, the 
wife of Herman Schultz, of Beaver Dam; Edward, of Horicon; Frank of 
Chicago, Illinois; and Mrs. Erdmann. Mr. and Mrs. Erdmann have one child, 
Alice Mafalda, whose natal day was August 15, 1903. 

In his political views Mr. Erdmann is independent, supporting men and 
measures rather than party. His religious faith is indicated by his membership 
in the German Reformed church at Juneau. Both he and his wife have spent 
their entire lives in Dodge county and have gained an extensive circle of friends 
here. 



For thirty-five years Richard E. Thomas conducted a blacksmith shop in 
Beaver Dam, founding a well deserved success in business upon the firm basis of 
honor and good faith. For four years after disposing of this enterprise to his 
son he farmed in the vicinity of the city and was prosperous in this occupation 
also. He has now abandoned active life and is living retired at No. 304 Haskel 
street. He has lived in Beaver Dam since he was twenty-four years of age, 
coming here from his native city of Benson, Vermont, where he was born on the 
24th of December, 1832. His parents were John H. and Sarah (Taylor) 
Thomas, natives of Vermont. Their marriage occurred in that state and both 
died there. 

Richard E. Thomas was educated in the public schools of Benson and learned 
the blacksmith's trade. In May, 1856, he came to Wisconsin where he worked 
as a journeyman blacksmith for one summer. At the end of that time he was 
able to establish himself in business, founding at this time an enterprise which 
was increasingly successful for thirty-five years. He was an expert in the 
details of his trade and honest, straightforward and upright in his commercial 
dealings and was consequently prosperous. When he abandoned blacksmithing 
he gave the management of his enterprise into the hands of his son who is now 
carrying it on along the modern and progressive standards established by his 
father. Mr. Thomas farmed for a short time after he retired from business 
life and was successful as general agriculturist until 1908 when he disposed of 
his property and has since been living retired. 

In 1854 the subject of this review was united in marriage to Miss Julia 
Drake, a daughter of Julius and Sarah (Tomlinson) Drake. She was the eighth 
in a family of nine children and was born February 23, 1837. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Thomas have been born three children: George H., who is married and living 



RICHARD E. THOMAS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



153 



in Beaver Dam, where he is now carrying on the business which his father 
established ; Francis, who died at the age of thirty-five ; and Jennie, who passed 
away when she was three and one-half years old. 

In his political beliefs Mr. Thomas is consistently republican, and while he 
never seeks public office he has been many times called upon to serve his fellow 
citizens. He has been marshal of the city for eighteen years although he has 
not served consecutively. For two years he was deputy sheriff and did able 
work as deputy United States marshal for one year. He is a prominent Mason, 
holding membership in the chapter and commandery. He served two terms as 
master and one term as high priest and is well known in the affairs of the local 
organization. He owns his residence in Beaver Dam and other residence prop- 
erty and is also interested in town lots. He is a stockholder in the old National 
Bank and interested in all kinds of local enterprises. For many years he was 
one of the progressive and representative business men of Beaver Dam, active 
in promoting his own success but at the same time mindful of his obligations as 
a citizen. He made the enterprises in which he engaged successful by seizing 
any favorable opportunity for advancement and by adhering faithfully to high 
standards of commercial honor. He has well earned the rest he is now enjoying. 



GEORGE EDWARD LESLIE. 

George Edward Leslie, an agriculturist residing on section 22, Oak Grove 
township, is one of the worthy native sons of Dodge county, his birth having 
occurred in Ashippun township on the 20th of March, 1858. His parents were 
John and Emma (Webster) Leslie, the former a native of Scotland and the 
latter of England. In 1844 John Leslie emigrated to the United States with 
his parents, the family home being established on a farm in Ashippun township, 
this county, where he grew to manhood and became a landowner. He likewise 
became identified with milling interests, owning and operating a sawmill and 
later a gristmill in Ashippun township. Subsequently he was elected sheriff 
of Dodge county and took up his abode in Juneau. He next purchased a farm 
in Oak Grove township, just east of Juneau, and continued to reside thereon 
until called to his final rest in 1898, having survived his wife for several years. 
During his residence here he served as chairman of Ashippun township and also 
of Oak Grove township; was secretary of the Oak Grove Farmers Mutual In- 
surance Company for several years; and acted as salesman for the Oak Grove 
Union cheese factory. He was a member of the Wisconsin assembly in 1885 
and 1886. The period of his residence in this county covered more than a half 
century and in his passing the community lost one of its most respected, influ- 
ential and esteemed citizens. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Leslie were born eight 
children, as follows: Robert, who is an employe in the Fuller & Johnson plant 
at Madison; George Edward, of this review; Sarah, who is the wife of J. A. 
Peffer, a carpenter of Waukesha; Anna, who gave her hand in marriage to 
Herman Schwensow, an agriculturist of Oak Grove township; Linnie, who is 
deceased; Agnes, who lives with her brother George; Emma, who is the wife 



154 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of Gustave Weiss, a farmer residing at Rosendale; and John, who is employed 
as bookkeeper by the Payne Lumber Company of Oshkosh. 

George Edward Leslie obtained his early education in the schools of Aship- 
pun township and later continued his studies in Juneau for one year. He was 
reared to manhood on the home farm and when twenty-six years of age began 
operating the same in association with his father, whom he assisted in the work 
of the fields until the latter's death. A number of years afterward he disposed 
of the property and bought his present home place of five acres a half mile 
east of Juneau. In his undertakings as an agriculturist he has won a gratifying 
and well merited measure of success and has long been numbered among the 
substantial and representative citizens of his native county. He gives his politi- 
cal allegiance to the democracy but has never sought nor desired office as a reward 
for his party fealty. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen at Juneau. 
He has spent his entire life in this county, and that his career has ever been an 
upright and honorable one is indicated in the fact that the associates of his boy- 
hood and youth are still numbered among his stanch friends and admirers. 



WILLIAM II EC KM AN. 

William Heckman, busily engaged in general farming, is assisting his son 
on the farm of ninety-four acres on section 13, Oak Grove township, which he 
formerly owned. His birth occurred in Germany on the 19th of September, 
185 1, his parents being Gotlieb and Paulina (Hiltzberg) Heckman, both of whom 
were born near Berlin, Germany, the former in 1825. and the latter on the 7th 
of May, 1827. They emigrated to the United States in 1852, coming direct to 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, and settling near Watertown, in Lebanon township, 
where they continued to reside until 1863. In that year Mr. Heckman pur- 
chased a farm of sixty acres near Mayville and thereon spent the remainder of 
his life, passing away about 1871. 

William Heckman, the first born in a family of ten children, obtained his 
education in the schools of Mayville. When fourteen years of age he began 
working for others at threshing and farming, thus early gaining practical knowl- 
edge of the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for crops. After attain- 
ing Ins majority he rented a farm in Leroy township, devoting his attention to 
its operation for five years. During the following seven years he rented and 
cultivated other land and on the expiration of that period purchased a tract of 
fifty acres a mile and a half northeast of Mayville. At the end of ten years he 
disposed of the property and bought a farm of ninety-four acres in Oak Grove 
township, the operation of which has claimed his attention continuously since. 
In connection with the cultivation of cereals best adapted to soil and climate he 
raises sufficient stock for his own use, and his efforts in both branches of busi- 
ness have been attended with success. He also operates a threshing outfit for 
another man, having been engaged in this line of work since a youth of fifteen 
years. 

On the 5th of December, 1873, Mr. Heckman was united in marriage to 
Miss Molly Friezie, who was born in Germany on the 26th of September. 185^, 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



155 



her parents being Carl and Mary (Doering) Friezie. They crossed the Atlantic 
to the United States in 1854 and first located in Theresa township, this county. 
After selling their property there, they removed to Lomira township, where 
they spent the remainder of their lives. Our subject and his wife have two 
children, namely: Emil, who is a teamster residing in Horicon; and Edward, 
who in March, 191 1, purchased his father's farm which he now operates. Mr. 
and Mrs. Heckman also have an adopted daughter, Bessie. 

Mr. Heckman is a stalwart democrat in politics and has served in the capacity 
of school clerk for four terms. His religious faith is indicated by his member- 
ship in the Lutheran church at Horicon. Practically his entire life has been 
spent in Dodge county and he has long been numbered among its substantial 
agriculturists as well as representative and esteemed citizens. 



OTTO HENRY RASSMAN. 

Otto Henry Rassman. one of the younger agriculturists of Dodge county, is 
meeting with excellent success in his undertakings', devoting his attention to the 
operation of a farm of ninety acres in Hubbard township and giving his time 
and energies principally to dairying. He also owns another farm of one hun- 
dred and forty acres in the same locality but leases the property. His birth 
occurred in this county on the 25th of November, 1885, his parents being Fred 
and Louisa (Ihde) Rassman, natives of Germany. The father, whose natal 
year was 1850, emigrated to the United States when a youth of eighteen and 
here worked as a farm hand for some time. Carefully saving his earnings, he 
was later enabled to buy land of his own and subsequently came into possession 
of several farms. In 1907 he sold the place to his son Otto. During the long 
period of his residence in Dodge county he has gained an extensive and fa- 
vorable acquaintance within its borders. He and his wife now live at Juneau, 
where they have resided eight years. 

Otto H. Rassman supplemented his preliminary education by a course of 
study in the high school at Horicon and also attended a German school. He 
assisted in the work of the home farm until he was married, at the age of 
twenty-two years, and then purchased the property from his father, having 
operated the same on his own account continuously since. The place com- 
prises ninety acres of land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation. 
Mr. Rassman has a good herd of cattle and devotes his attention principally 
to dairying, this branch of his business returning to him a gratifying income. 
In 191 1 he built a new residence and he has also made many other substantial 
improvements which enhance the value and attractiveness of his farm. 

In 1907, in Hubbard township, Mr. Rassman was united in marriage to 
Miss Alma Swinge, who was born on the 14th of March, 1885, Her father, 
Frank Swinge, whose birth occurred in Germany on the 10th of November, 
1853. was brought to this country as a baby. He was twice married, his first 
wife bearing the maiden name of Minnie AfTerman. Mr. and Mrs. Rassman 
now have three children, namely: Delia, who was born on the 20th of June. 
1000: Hugo, whose birth occurred on the 25th of March. 1910; and Arnold. 



156 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



whose natal day was May 17, 191 1. Politically Mr. Rassman is a democrat, 
while his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. He has gained a 
creditable measure of prosperity for one of his years and is held in high re- 
gard and esteem in the county where he has always made his home. 



John L. Miltgen, a well known and highly esteemed resident of Beaver 
Dam, has served in the capacity of justice of the peace for the past eleven 
years. His birth occurred in Paris, France, on the 19th of June, 1841, his 
parents being John and Magdalena Miltgen. In 1857 the family emigrated 
to the United States, locating in West Bend, Washington county, Wisconsin, 
where they resided until 1861. In that year they took up their abode at 
Theresa, Dodge county, where both Mr. and Mrs. Miltgen spent the remainder 
of their lives, the former passing away in April, 1892, and the latter in Decem- 
ber, 1883. Both lived to attain the age of eighty-two years. John Miltgen, 
Sr., was a cabinet-maker by 'trade and worked at that occupation throughout 
his active business career. 

John L. Miltgen, whose name introduces this review, attended school at 
West Bend, Wisconsin, until twenty years of age and then turned his atten- 
tion to the millwright's trade. He came to Beaver Dam in 1863 and worked 
as a millwright until 1876. In that year he opened a saloon and boarding house, 
conducting the same for three years. In 1879 he took up his abode in West- 
ford and there conducted a store and saloon for four years. In 1883 he re- 
moved to Fall River. Columbia county, there residing until October, 1886, 
when he returned to Beaver Dam. Here he worked in the employ of the J. 
S. Rowell Manufacturing Company and the Malleable Iron Company for a 
number of years. Subsequently he opened a wagon shop, conducting the same 
until 1897, when he again entered the service of the J. S. Rowell Manufactur- 
ing Company. In 1901 he was elected justice of the peace and has filled the 
office to the present time in a most acceptable manner, his decisions being at all 
times fair and impartial. 

Mr. Miltgen has been married twice. On the 21st of November, 1861, he 
wedded Miss Elizabeth Lux, a daughter of John and Katrina Lux, of Ad- 
dison, Washington county, Wisconsin. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Miltgen were as follows: Joseph, who lives in California; Maggie, who is 
a resident of Racine, Wisconsin ; Theresa, whose demise occurred in Marinette, 
this state; Katie, living in Richfield, Washington county; Henry, of Minne- 
sota; Frank, of Iowa; and Michael, who resides in North Dakota. Unto John 
and Elisabeth Miltgen were born the following children: Katie, who lives in 
Milwaukee; Theresa, who died on the 3rd of April, 1870, when seven years 
of age ; Eva, who makes her home in Beaver Dam ; Annie, living in South 
Dakota ; Theresa and Lillie, both of whom are residents of California : Hen- 
rietta, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Frank, of 'Milwaukee. The wife and 
mother was called to her final rest on the 3d of December. 1877. In May, 
1878, Mr. Miltgen was again married, his second union being with Miss Eva 



JOHN L. MILTGEN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



157 



Kadinger, a daughter of John and Katrina Kadingcr, of Lomira, Wisconsin. 
By this marriage there were five children, namely: Doretta; John W., residing 
in Michigan ; George and Louis, who died in infancy ; and Mamie, of Beaver 
Dam. 

In politics Mr. Miltgen is a stalwart democrat. He was chosen city treas- 
urer in 1896 and, as above stated, is now filling the office of justice of the 
peace. He is a Catholic in religious faith and for eleven years served as presi- 
dent of the Beaver Dam Branch, No. 48. of the Catholic Knights of Wiscon- 
sin, while for two years he acted as financial secretary of the organization. 
John Miltgen has now passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years 
and ten and can look back upon an active and useful career. No trust reposed 
in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree and his fidelity to hon- 
orable, manly principles has ever won for him the good-will and friendship 
of those with whom he has been brought in contact. 



MARTIN MOHR. 

Martin Mohr is living retired at No. 315 West Maple avenue, Beaver Dam, 
after eighteen years' successful identification with the butcher business in that 
city. He was born in Milwaukee, August 15, 1857, and is a son of Henry and 
Mary Mohr, natives of Germany. The father was born in Saxony, in 1827, 
and the mother in Uchte, Hannover, January 19, 18 19. The father came to 
America in 1841, settling first in Baltimore, Maryland, and later in Milwaukee, 
where he was among- the pioneer residents. Their marriage occurred in Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin, February 2, 1854. Henry Mohr enlisted for service in the 
Civil war with the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry and was killed in the 
battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. He is buried in the military cemetery of 
that city. His wife survived him until December 24, 1896, dying when she was 
about seventy-eight years of age. She is buried in Calvary cemetery at Mil- 
waukee. 

Martin Mohr is one of two children, his sister Emma making her home 
in Milwaukee. He was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and has 
been earning his own living since he was fifteen years of age. In that year he 
learned the butcher business and for two years followed this line of occupa- 
tion in his native city, going at the end of that time to Juneau, where he pur- 
chased an establishment already founded and operating it successfully along 
the most modern and progressive lines for fourteen years. When he disposed 
of his holdings in Juneau he came to Beaver Dam, settling in this city in 1894. 
Here he purchased a business which had been neglected for some time and 
was in an extremely run-down condition. He took personal charge of its 
management and within a short time had put it upon a paying basis. This 
enterprise he conducted for eighteen years with constantly increasing suc- 
cess, building up during that interval a reputation for honesty and straightfor- 
ward commercial methods and ability of a high order. In 191 1 he sold his 
lease of the building in which he carried on his enterprise to the State Bank of 

Beaver Dam and retired from active life. He owns a comfortable and pleas- 

» 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ant home at No. 315 West Maple avenue and is extensively interested in real 
estate besides being a stockholder in the German National Bank. 

On July 12, 1882, Mr. Mohr was united in marriage to Miss May Arnold, a 
daughter of Samuel and Angeline (Phelps) Arnold, natives of New York. 
They were married in that state and came to Wisconsin about the year 1844. 
settling in Dodge county. Mrs. Mohr's father passed away in 1881, when he 
was seventy-six years of age. Her mother resided in Juneau and died July 
14, 191 2, in her ninetieth year. The wife of our subject was the ninth in a 
family of ten children and was born in Dodge county, November 23. 1862. 
She and her husband became the parents of four children: Ethel, who mar- 
ried G. Berg, of Spokane, Washington, by whom she has one child, Lois; 
Fred, who passed away May 14, 191 1 ; Harry, who died when he was a year 
old; and Lois June, who lives at home. 

Mr. Mohr is a democrat in his political views and always votes the party 
ticket. He and his family are members of the Episcopal church. Fraternally he 
belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is also active in the affairs 
of the Knights of Pythias. He has attained financial success by the able con- 
duct of an important and progressive business enterprise and has won personal 
recognition as an honest man. This title has never been denied him, for his 
integrity of purpose dominates all his activities and has influenced his busi- 
ness and individual life. 



Charles C. Miller is well known in the business circles of Beaver Dam as 
both merchant and lawyer, for he conducts a book store while engaged in the 
practice of law. He was born in Milwaukee in 1854, his parents being Gus- 
tavus and Louise (Dempewolf ) Miller, who were natives of Prussia, Germany, 
and became residents of Milwaukee in 1854, the father there following the 
tailor's trade which he had learned in his native land. In 1856 he came to 
Beaver Dam and changed his occupation, opening a grocery store. He was 
connected with that and other business enterprises up to the time of his re- 
tirement, after which he spent his last days in the enjoyment of well earned 
rest, his death occurring in Beaver Dam, in December, 1908. His widow still 
survives and is now eighty-three years of age. Mr. Miller's political support 
was given to the democratic party. In their family were eight children, five 
of whom reached years of maturity : Gustave, who was a cigar manufacturer 
of Des Moines, Iowa, but is now deceased ; Charles C. ; Albert, who is a farmer of 
Canada and is also connected with theater interests there ; Otto, who resides 
in Sumner, Iowa ; and Memmah, at home. 

Charles C. Miller is indebted to the public school system of Beaver Dam 
for the early education which he enjoyed and which was supplemented by 
study in Wayland College. He read law under the direction of several prom- 
inent attorneys and for eight years was upon the road selling musical instru- 
ments. In 1880 he turned his attention to the book business, in connection with 
Captain Hammer, of Beaver Dam, and five years later bought out his cm- 



CHARLES C. MILLER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



159 



ployer, since which time he has conducted a book store in this city, being now 
one of the oldest merchants in this line here. He read law from 1880 until 
1882 and was admitted to the bar in 1883, since which time he has carried on 
a good practice. For eight years he was justice of the peace. 



EDWARD L. ARNDT. 

Edward L. Arndt is secretary and vice president of the Beaver Dam Bot- 
tling Company and his efforts have contributed in substantial measure to the 
continued growth and success of that concern. He was born at Watertown, 
Wisconsin, in 1869, his parents being William J. and Amelia Arndt, whose 
marriage was celebrated in 1866. The father, a native of Germany, was 
brought to the United States when but six years of age and, coming to Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, has here resided to the present time. He followed farm- 
ing as a life work but for the past twelve years has lived retired at Beaver 
Dam. Unto him and his wife were born the following children: Amanda, who 
is a resident of Jefferson county, this state ;* Edward L., of this review ; Wil- 
liam, living in Jefferson county ; Clara, of Green Lake county, Wisconsin ; and 
Rosie and Sylvia, both of Beaver Dam. 

Edward L. Arndt attended the public schools of Watertown in the acquire- 
ment of an education, but when a youth of thirteen put aside his text-books 
and familiarized himself with the process of cheese making. Subsequently he 
turned his attention to butter making, being thus engaged for a period of 
eighteen years. On the expiration of that time he took up his abode in Beaver 
Dam and was here engaged in the draying business for five years. In 1907 
he became a partner of J. I. Marquart by purchasing an interest in the Beaver 
Dam Bottling Company and has since acted in the dual capacity of secretary 
and vice president. 

In 1893 Mr. Arndt was joined in wedlock to Miss Helena M. Young, a 
daughter of Louis Young, of Dodge county. They have a daughter, Ruth, 
who is fourteen years of age and attends public school. Mr. Arndt gives his 
political allegiance to the democracy, while his religious faith is that of the 
Lutheran church. In social circles he has gained the warm friendship and 
regard of all with whom he has been brought into contact, while in business 
life he has gained that success which comes from close application, industry 
and capable management. 



EMIL REX. 

Emil Rex, busily engaged in general farming, is the owner of a well im- 
proved tract of land in Hubbard township. He is numbered among the worthy 
native sons of Dodge county, his birth having occurred in Hubbard township 
on the 14th of July, 1878. His parents, F. W. and Catherine (Simon) Rex. 
were both natives of Germany, the former born in Oderbruch on the 3rst of 



160 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



August, 1838, and the latter in Luxemburg in 184 1. F. W. Rex emigrated to 
the United States in 1852 and immediately turned his attention to general agri- 
cultural pursuits. He owned and conducted a drug store at Hustisford for a 
number of years. For several years, during the period of the Civil war, be con- 
ducted a dry-goods establishment in Juneau, and he became widely recognized 
as one of the prosperous and esteemed citizens of this county. It was in 1861 
that he wedded Miss Catherine Simon, who had been brought to this country 
when but a year old. 

Emil Rex was a young man of twenty-five years when he started out a's 
an agriculturist on his own account, receiving a farm from his father on sec- 
tion 2i, Hubbard township, the operation of which has claimed his attention 
continuously since. He is now engaged in general farming but expects in the 
near future to begin the raising of full bred Holstein cattle. He has erected a 
silo and a commodious new residence and has made many other substantial 
improvements on the property, which in its neat and attractive appearance gives 
evidence of his careful supervision. Mr. Rex also acts as secretary of the co- 
operative store at Horicon and enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the 
substantial and representative citizens of his native county. 

As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Rex chose Miss 
Esther Jesse, who was born in Leroy township, this county, on the 6th of May,- 
1878. her parents being Frank and Minnie (Ewald) Jesse. The father's birth 
occurred in the province of Pommern, Germany, on the 16th of March, 1848, 
while the mother was born in Uckermark, Germany, on the 2d of June, 1846. 
Frank Jesse came to the United States as a boy and it was on the 5th of April, 
1867, that he wedded Minnie Ewald. Mr. and Mrs. Rex now have two children, 
as follows: Harvey, who was born on the 4th of January, 1905; and Orrin, 
whose natal day was May 18, 1910. 

In his political views Mr. Rex is a republican. He has served in the ca- 
pacity of school clerk for six years and still discharges the duties of that of- 
fice. He is a devoted and consistent member of the German Evangelical church. 
Both he and his wife have remained residents of Dodge county throughout 
their entire lives and have a host of warm friends here. 



Albert A. Koch is a dealer in clothing and men's furnishings in Beaver 
Dam and one feature of his success is the fact that he has continued in this 
line of trade since completing his education. His business methods, too, are 
such as will bear close investigation and scrutiny and although one of the younger 
merchants of the city he is now well and substantially established in business. 
Dodge county numbers him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Tren- 
ton township, March 24, 1885. His parents were Louis and Ottilie ( Steube) 
Koch, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to the new 
world, settling at once in Dodge county. The father, who also followed the 
occupation of farming, owned and operated one hundred and sixty acres of 
land which he brought under a high state of cultivation. Both he and his wife 



ALBERT A. KOCH. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



were members of the German Lutheran church and found in its teachings the 
rules which governed their conduct. In his later life the father lived retired in 
Beaver Dam, where he passed away in 1900, being still survived by his wife. 
They were the parents of three children : Carl, now deceased ; Gertrude, the 
wife of Joseph Hammer, of Beaver Dam ; and Albert A. 

The last named acquired a public school education and was also a student 
in the Spencerian Business College of Milwaukee. In 1899 his brother Carl 
had opened a store for the sale of men's furnishing goods and was thus con- 
nected with business interests in this city until his death in 1901. On the com- 
pletion of his education Albert A. Koch entered his brother's store and is now 
one of the partners, Robert Baum having also acquired an interest in the busi- 
ness. They handle a general line of men's furnishings and their trade is 
steadily growing, for they have proven themselves worthy of the public patron- 
age by reason of their straightforward dealings and the large and well selected 
line of goods which they carry. 

On the 24th of June, 1908, was celebrated the marriage of Albert A. Koch 
and Miss Edith E. Nolson, a daughter of C. C. Nolson, of Beaver Dam, and 
they now have three children: Carl, three years of age; and Louise Otelia 
Koch and Louie Peter Koch, who are twins. Mrs. Koch is a member of the 
Episcopal church and Mr. Koch is a Royal Arch Mason, loyal to the teachings 
of the craft. Both are well known and the hospitality of many of the best 
homes in the city is accorded them. While one of the younger merchants, he 
has already won for himself an enviable place as a wide-awake, alert and 
energetic representative of commercial interests. 



FRANK SCHULTZ. 

Frank Schultz, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pur- 
suits, is the owner of an excellent farm on section 21, Hubbard township. His 
birth occurred in Dodge county on the 18th of July, 1877, his parents being 
Fred and Louisa (Schnorstein) Schultz, the former a native of Germany and 
the latter of this county. On attaining his majority he started out as an agri- 
culturist on his own account, renting a farm which he operated for four years. 
On the expiration of that period he purchased a tract of forty acres near 
Kekoskee and after cultivating the same for four years traded it for a farm of 
eighty acres near Mayville. Disposing of that place, in 1910, he took up his 
abode on the farm which is now in his possession and on which he has resided 
continuously to the present time. He devotes his attention exclusively to gen- 
eral agricultural pursuits and is meeting with success in this connection. He 
has built a silo and has improved his buildings generally, and everything about 
his place gives evidence of the supervision of a practical and progressive owner. 

On the 10th of November, 1898, Mr. Schultz was united in marriage to 
Miss Emma Berg, who was born in Fond du Lac county on the 13th of April, 
1878, her parents being Ludwig and Mary (Brazlow) Berg, natives of Ger- 
many. Our subject and his wife now have three children, namely: Esther, 
who was born on the 5th of November, 1902; Viola, whose birth occurred on 



162 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the 17th of September, 1907; and Melvin, whose natal day was February 
18, 1910. 

In politics Mr. Schultz is independent, supporting men and measures rather 
than party. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, belonging to the church of 
that denomination at Horicon. In the community where his entire life has 
been spent he enjoys the regard and esteem of an extensive circle of friends. 



Albert A. Goetsch, residing on section 21, Oak Grove township, is the pro- 
prietor of the Pine Grove Stock Farm, on which he keeps pure bred Holstein 
cattle and also Duroc hogs. The place embraces one hundred and seventy-two 
acres and is well improved in every particular. His birth occurred in Emmet 
township, Dodge county, on the 19th of July, 1864, his parents being William 
F. and Charlotte (Learman) Goetsch, both of whom were natives of the province 
of Pommern, Germany. The father was born July 27, 1820, while the mother's 
birth occurred November 14, 1819. William F. Goetsch served as a soldier 
in the regular army of Germany and followed the tailor's trade in that country 
until 1846. In that year he emigrated to the United States, coming direct to 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, and locating in Emmet township, where he purchased 
a farm of sixty acres. Subsequently he extended the boundaries of his place 
by additional purchase until it comprised ninety acres, and thereon he made 
his home until 1885, when he disposed of the property and took up his abode 
on the farm which is now in possession of our subject. His demise occurred 
on the 1 2th of March, 1901, while his wife was called to her final rest in the 
spring of 1899. The period of his residence in Dodge county covered fifty-five 
years and he enjoyed an enviable reputation here as a substantial and esteemed 
citisen. 

Albert A. Goetsch obtained his early education in the district schools of 
Emmet township and later pursued a course of study in the high school at 
Watertown. He was the youngest in a family of eleven children. After put- 
ting aside his text-books he worked for others at intervals until twenty-four 
years of age, when he purchased the old homestead place, which has since re- 
mained in his possession. It is situated a mile west of Juneau and comprises 
one hundred and seventy-two acres of rich and productive land. The modern 
buildings which adorn the property were all erected by him and stand as monu- 
ments to his thrift and enterprise. The place is known as the Pine Grove Stock 
Farm and is operated as a breeding farm, Mr. Goetsch keeping pure bred Hol- 
stein cattle, Duroc hogs and high grade Percheron horses. He has won grati- 
fying success in this connection and is also a stockholder in the proposed Mil- 
waukee Western Electric Railroad and the Juneau Cheese & Butter Company. 

On the 21 st of September, 1888, Mr. Goetsch was united in marriage to 
Miss Matilda Voth, who was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on the 3d 
of November, 1865, her parents being Frederick and Fredericke (Zelaff) Voth. 
natives of the province of Pommern, Germany. They were born about the 
year 1820 and emigrated to the 'United States about the same time as our sub- 



ALBERT A. GOETSCH. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



163 



ject's parents, locating at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where Mrs. Voth passed 
away in 1879. Frederick Voth, who followed farming throughout his entire 
business career, spent the last years of his life with his son-in-law, Mr. Goetsch, 
and died in 1890. Mrs. Goetsch is the youngest in a family of six children 
and by her marriage has become the mother of seven children, as follows: 
Florence, born August 4, 1890, who is a teacher in the Orphan Asylum at 
Racine ; Frank A., whose birth occurred on the 9th of February, 1893 ; Inez, 
whose natal day was May 2, 1895; Mina, born February 12, 1900; Anson, 
whose birth occurred on the 7th of June, 1902 ; Elmer, born June 8, 1905 ; and 
Gilbert, whose natal day was July J, 1909. All except the first named are still 
under the parental roof. 

Mr. Goetsch is a republican in politics and has served as chairman of Oak 
Grove township for one term. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, 
while fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen and the Beavers. 
His entire life has been spent in Dodge county, where he is widely known and 
where he has so directed his labors as to win substantial success as the result 
of his industry and integrity. 



FRANZ J. HOSIG. 

Franz J. Hosig, the owner of an excellent farm of eighty acres in Hubbard 
township, devotes his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits with 
gratifying success. His birth occurred in Hartford, Washington county, Wis- 
consin, on the 2d of April, 1865, his parents being John M. and Louisa (Kock) 
Hosig. The father was born in Switzerland on the 24th of January, 1829, 
while the mother's birth occurred in Germany on the 17th of August, 1838. 
John M. Hosig emigrated to the United States in the '50s and began farming 
near Hartford, this state, It was in the year 1862 that he wedded Miss Louisa 
Kock. 

Franz J. Hosig obtained his education in the schools of Hubbard township, 
being one year of age when he came to this county with his parents, who set- 
tled on a farm in that township. He assisted his father in the work of the 
fields and thus early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to 
the lot of the agriculturist. At the age of twenty-seven years he was married 
but remained on the home farm and has operated the same to the present 
time. The property comprises eighty acres of rich and productive land and in 
its cultivation he has won success, the well tilled fields annually yielding golden 
harvests as a reward for the care and labor which he bestows upon them. 
He has built an addition to the barn and repaired the residence, and the farm 
is now well improved in every particular. 

In 1892 Mr. Hosig was united in marriage to Miss Anna Dornfeldt, who 
was born in Hubbard township, this county, on the 4th of December, 1869, her 
parents being Frederick and Henrietta (Neider) Dornfeldt, natives of Ger- 
many. Our subject and his wife have four living children, as follows : Hilda, 
who is now the wife of William Webber ; Leona, who was born on the 30th of 



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164 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



October, 1894; Regina, whose natal day was March 28, 1898; and Erna, whose 
birth occurred on the 25th of September, 1899. 

At the polls Mr. Hosig casts his ballot in support of the men and measures 
of the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good 
government. His religious faith is that of the German Evangelical church. 
Earnest effort and intelligently directed labor have ever constituted the salient 
features of his business career, while his life has been governed by high prin- 
ciples that have gained for him the respect and good-will of his fellowmen. 



Rev. Edward B. Edmunds who is living retired at 205 North Division street, 
Beaver Dam, is a splendid example of the earnest, sincere and God-fearing 
clergyman. He has been for over forty years a force in the Baptist church in 
Wisconsin, achieving undoubted success by useful, valuable and practical work. 
In the course of a long life he has labored steadily for the advancement of reli- 
gion and for its imprinting in the hearts of the people and has earned his retire- 
ment which is more a slackening of labor than entire quiescence. Mr. Edmunds 
was born in Hamilton, Madison county, New York, June 18, 1839, and is a son 
of James and Cordelia (Spear) Edmunds, the former a native of Vermont 
and the latter of New York. They were of Puritan ancestry and were married 
in Macedon, New York, and lived in Orleans county for some time. The father 
engaged in agricultural pursuits and spent a great deal of his time in Christian 
agency work being a deeply religious man. He took an active part in the foun- 
dation and early development of Colgate University and in the founding of the 
University of Rochester, New York. In 1855 he moved to Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, where he became identified with the Bible Revision Association and 
was engaged in this line of activity at the time of his death which occurred in 
February, 1861. His wife had passed away in the spring of 1843. 

Edward B. Edmunds was the fifth in a family of seven children. He re- 
ceived his primary education in the district schools of Orleans county and was 
graduated from Colgate University in i860 and from the seminary in 1864. 
At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company C, Sixty-first New 
York Volunteer Infantry and served until December. 1862. He was poisoned 
with ivy in the Chickohominy Swamp in Virginia and was discharged on account 
of disability. He was afterward assigned to the pastorate of Avon, Illinois; 
Baraboo, Wisconsin; New Lisbon; Oconomowoc. and Lamartine, that state, 
following which he was active for one year as Sunday-school missionary, in 
connection with the American Sunday-School Union. For thirty-nine years fol- 
lowing he served in the same capacity under the American Baptist Publication 
Society from which he retired in the spring of 1909. Since leaving his native 
state he has been a resident of Wisconsin practically all the time with the excep- 
tion of four years between 1877 and 1881, which he spent in Michigan. 

In September, 1864, Mr. Edmunds was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Hovey, a daughter of William Hovey, of Whitestown, Oneida county, New 
York. She was the youngest of thirteen children and was born October 15, 



REV. EDWARD B. EDMUNDS. 




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167 



1836. Rev. and Mrs. Edmunds became the parents of four children: William 
H.; Fredrick, who died at the age of eighteen months; Cora, who died in in- 
fancy; and James, of Seattle, Washington, who is married and has one son. 
E. B., who is seven years of age. 

Mr. Edmunds cast his first vote, for Abraham Lincoln and affiliated with the 
republican party until 1907, when he became identified with the prohibition 
movement. He has been a member of the Order of Gideons for many years 
and was the four hundred and fifty-sixth member of that organization. He is 
on the executive board of the Wisconsin Federation of Churches and Reforms, 
and is one of the vice presidents of the Wisconsin Sons of Rest Association. 
Rev. Edmunds also serves as a member of the board and the executive commit- 
tee of the Woodland Academy, and he sits on the board of the Wisconsin state 
convention, being one of the Sunday-school committee of that organization. 
Locally he serves as chairman of the building committee in charge of the new 
church which is in the course of erection in Beaver Dam. He is president of the 
Dodge County Sunday-School Association and doing effective work in extending 
the influence of Sunday-schools throughout the county with beneficial results 
to the people. He is now seventy-three years of age and has earned the 
retirement he is enjoying. He has combined with firm faith and upright prin- 
ciples the administrative ability to make his beliefs effective and has made 
his life convincing by personally following the doctrines he professes. 



EDWIN C. WENZ. 

Edwin C. Wenz is among the leading business men of Beaver Dam. He is a 
partner in the Newton & Wenz Company, now owning and controlling the largest 
general store in the city. They set the standard for other establishments of 
the same character, giving most careful attention to the selection of goods, to 
the personnel of the house and to the character of service rendered the public. 
Their business methods, too, are in conformity to the strictest commercial ethics 
and thus it is that they merit and receive a liberal share of the public patronage. 

Mr. Wenz was born in Iowa October, 1857, his parents being Christian and 
Henrietta (Losner") Wenz, who were natives of Germany but came to America 
with their respective parents in the '40s. They were married in Sheboygan, 
Wisconsin, and afterward lived in St. Paul, while later they became residents 
of Iowa. The father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and at 
different times engaged in preaching in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 
He died in South Dakota in 1892, and in that state his widow still survives. He 
became a preacher of Beaver Dam in 1872 and remained here for three years. 

His son, Edwin C. Wenz, having completed his education in the public schools, 
became connected with the establishment of which he is now one of the pro- 
prietors. That was in the year 1875 when he was eighteen years of age. His 
position was that of delivery boy, but gradually he has worked his way upward 
through intermediate positions until he is now general manager and president 
of the company. The business was organized by T. L. Newton in 1856 and con- 
ducted under the firm name of Newton & Willard. In 1883 the present firm of 
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Newton & Wenz was formed and under that style the business was conducted 
until 1901, when it was incorporated under the name of the Newton & Wenz 
Company, with E. C. Wenz as president and Miss D. G. Howard as secretary 
and treasurer. These, together with M. Prichard and E. L. Marsh, constitute 
the board of directors. They conduct a general store in a building forty by one 
hundred feet, two stories in height, with basement. Each department is a com- 
plete store in itself. The basement is used for groceries; the first floor is used 
for men's clothing, notions, dry goods, ladies' furnishings,' men's shoes and the 
general offices; and the second floor houses the carpets, rugs and draperies, the 
cloaks and dresses and the ladies', misses' and children's ready-to-wear goods. 
It also contains an overflow salesroom for men's furnishings. They carry a 
large general line of goods in Beaver Dam and arc conducting an extensive busi- 
ness, necessitating the employment of fourteen people. From his boyhood days 
Mr. Wenz has been continuously connected with this establishment and as his 
business ability has developed with the passing years he has gradually worked 
his way upward and is now at the head of the enterprise. 

In 1885 Mr. Wenz was married to Miss Mary Voreck, of Beaver Dam, a 
daughter of William Voreck, and they now have one child, Blanch. Mrs. Wenz 
attends the St. Peter's Catholic church. Mr. Wenz votes independently at local 
elections but is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and gives generously 
of his time and means to further works of public progress. His membership 
relations are with the Masonic fraternity, he belonging to the lodge, chapter and 
commandery. Its teachings concerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kind- 
liness find exemplification in his life and have won for him the high esteem of 
his brethren in the order and of the public at large. 



HENRY WILLIAM SCHWANTES. 

Henry William Schwantes, successfully engaged in general agricultural pur- 
suits, is the owner of a farm of eighty-seven acres on section 16, Oak Grove 
township. His birth occurred in Hustisford township. Dodge county, on the 
25th of May, 1879, his parents being August and Amelia (Schultz) Schwantes, 
both of whom were natives of Germany. They emigrated to the United States 
about 1876, locating in Hustisford township, this county, where August Schwan- 
tes worked for others. Subsequently he cultivated rented land near Hartford, 
Washington county, and later purchased a farm in Hustisford township, being 
actively engaged in its operation for about twenty-five years. On the expira- 
tion of that period he took up his abode in the village of Hustisford, where his 
demise occurred on the 2d of February, 191 1, the community thus losing one 
of its substantial and respected citizens. His wife was called to her final rest 
on the 1st of February, 1909. 

Henry William Schwantes obtained his education in Hustisford and when 
not busy with his text-books assisted his father in the operation of the home 
farm, thus early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the 
lot of the agriculturist. When twenty-one years of age he began working for 
others as a farm hand, being thus employed for four years. Subsequently he 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



169 



cultivated rented land in Beaver Dam township for one year and then rented a 
farm in Oak Grove township, being busily engaged in its operation for five years. 
On the expiration of that period in 1908, he purchased eighty-seven acres of 
land about a mile northwest of Juneau, where he has since continued to reside, 
having brought the place under a high state of cultivation and improvement. 
He devotes his attention to the pursuits of farming and stock-raising and keeps 
from twenty to twenty-five head of dairy cattle. He is likewise a stockholder 
in the Juneau Cheese & Butter Company and has gained a reputation as one of 
the prosperous and enterprising citizens of his community. 

On the 19th of August, 1901, Mr. Schwantes was united in marriage to Miss 
Minnie Kowell, who was born in Germany on the 25th of June, 1879, and who 
accompanied her parents on their emigration to the United States about 1884. 
Her father first worked for others but subsequently rented land in Hustisford 
township, this county, and here passed away soon afterward. The mother 
spent her last days with Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Schwantes, her demise occur- 
ring in August, 1908. Our subject and his wife have three children, namely: 
Hulda, who was born on the 25th of June, 1902; Violet, whose birth occurred 
on the 25th of May, 1903 ; and Roland, whose natal day was April 8, 1904. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Schwantes has sup- 
ported the republican ticket at the polls, believing that the principles of that party 
are most conducive to good government. His religious faith is indicated by his 
membership in the Lutheran church at Juneau. A successful farmer, an exem- 
plary citizen, and a young man of high moral standards, he enjoys the respect 
of all who have come in contact with him. 



FELIX H. MATTHES. 

In the death of Felix H. Matthes, Dodge county lost one of its well known and 
substantial business men. He was born in Hustisford, October 28, i860, and 
that city remained the scene of his labors throughout the entire period of his 
busy and active life. His parents, Henry and Marie (Lorenz) Matthes, were 
both born in Germany, the father at Alt Ruednitz and the mother in Crossen, 
and were numbered among the pioneer residents of Hustisford, where the father 
early became identified with mercantile interests. He established his business 
in 1855 and to its conduct gave his entire time and attention throughout the 
intervening years until 1888, when he gave over to his son Felix the supervision 
of his store and removed to Chicago, Illinois, where he is now engaged in the 
real-estate business. His wife also survives. 

Reared under the parental roof, Felix H. Matthes acquired his early educa- 
tion in the district school and this was later supplemented by a course of study 
in the Northwestern University at Watertown. Thus well equipped for the 
practical and responsible duties of life he returned home and assisted his father 
in the conduct of his merchandise business until he was twenty-eight years of 
age, when, in 1888, upon his father's removal to Chicago, he took full charge 
of he store. In 1902 he entirely rebuilt the building in which the store was 
located, making it a thoroughly modern structure in every respect, completely 



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equipped with all necessary accessories for the conduct of an up-to-date mer- 
cantile enterprise. He had a large and well selected stock of goods, carrying a 
general line of merchandise, and his business policy was such that each year 
witnessed a substantial increase in the volume of his trade, which eventually 
became large and remunerative. He continued in the conduct of his store until 
his death, and was numbered among the most progressive, enterprising and 
prosperous business men of his native city. He had other interests as well, own- 
ing a large number of thoroughbred Morgan horses and being recognized as one 
of the best horsemen in his district, his word being accepted as authority upon 
this subject. As he prospered he wisely invested his income in real estate and 
at the time of his death was the owner of a number of lots and other property 
at Hustisford. 

It was on the 15th of September, 1901, that Mr. Matthes was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Emma Gebhardt, and unto them was bom one son, Felix G., whose 
birth occurred November 12, 1908. Mr. Matthes was called from this life on 
the 3d of April, 1910. He is survived by his wife and son and a daughter, by 
a former marriage, Georgiana, now Mrs. Wallace H. Rohrschnider. Mrs. 
Matthes has manifested considerable business ability in the management of the 
affairs entrusted to her at the death of htr husband. She has since sold his 
stock interests and has leased the store, from which a good annual rental is 
received. She is serving as postmaster of Hustisford, succeeding to the position 
after her husband's demise. She is a member of the Union church, as was also 
her husband, and his political support was given to the republican party. He 
was a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. He held various local offices including that of postmaster, and for a num- 
ber of years was a member of the school board, the cause of education ever 
finding in him a warm friend. Progress may be termed the keynote to his 
career for he believed in material, intellectual, and moral progress, recognizing 
that each has its place in the scheme of the world, and his labors were an element 
of growth along those lines during his residence in Hustisford. He possessed 
too, those personal qualities which speak for honorable and upright manhood 
and which win friendship and regard, and in his death the community lost one 
of its worthy and valued citizens. 



JOSEPH WAGNER. 

Joseph Wagner has been successfully engaged in business as florist in 
Beaver Dam for the past thirty-seven years. He is numbered among the worthy 
native sons of Dodge county, his birth having here occurred on the 22d of 
December, 1855. His parents were Joseph and Theresa (Trauguer) Wagner. 
The father, who was born in Germany in 1813, emigrated to America in 1851, 
settling in Dodge county, Wisconsin. He was a stone mason by trade and 
worked at that occupation throughout his entire life, passing away on the 2d 
of September, 1890. To him and his wife were born the following children: 
Theresa, who is the wife of S. J. Schafer, of Colby, Wisconsin; Joseph, .of 
this review; William, living in Thorp, Wisconsin; Mary, who is the wife of 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



171 



Dr. Carl von Neupert and resides at Stevens Point; and Barbara, the wife of 
John Hanpey, of Aurora, Illinois. 

Joseph Wagner attended the public and parochial schools of Beaver Dam 
until about fifteen years of age and subsequently continued his studies in Way- 
land Academy during one winter term. About 1875 he embarked in business 
at Beaver Dam as a florist and dealer in seeds on the present site of the pub- 
lic library and in 1881 sold the property to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railway Company, from which corporation the city later purchased it for a 
library site. As above stated, he has here been engaged in business as a florist 
for the past thirty-seven years and has enjoyed continued and growing success. 

On the 15th of August, 1880, Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss 
Anna Waldeck, a daughter of Henry and Willemina (Donges) . Waldeck, of 
Milwaukee. Their son, Clarence H. Wagner, who was born on the 4th of 
July, 1881, is a graduate of the graded and high schools and also pursued a 
course of study in Wayland Academy, leaving that institution in 1898. Going 
to the western metropolis, he entered the Chicago Musical College and follow- 
ing his graduation in 1902 pursued a post-graduate course as a violinist for 
three years. On the 26th of June, 191 1, he wedded Ha Harvey, a daughter of 
Jervis Harvey, of East Pleasant Plain, Iowa. 

Mr. Wagner is a democrat in politics and has ably served as member of the 
school board for several terms. In former years he was a member of Com- 
pany K, the Wisconsin National Guard. In the community where his entire 
life has been spent he enjoys the regard and esteem of an extensive circle of 
friends. 



AUGUST GRONERT. 

August Gronert is living retired upon a farm in Oak Grove township and is 
well known in agricultural circles of this community, having for many years 
operated and improved one hundred and five acres of land. He has now, how- 
ever, given up the active work of the fields and has rented out his property. He 
was born in Prussia, November 27, 1858, a son of August and Wilhclmina 
(Guenther) Gronert, natives of that country, who came to America in 1858 and 
settled in Jefferson county, where both died. 

Mr. Gronert was educated in the district schools and pursued the usual 
course of study until he was eighteen years of age. At that time he began 
earning his own livelihood, working as a farm hand for four dollars per month. 
For eight years he followed this line of occupation and then purchased land in 
Shields township, upon which he resided for four years. Selling this property, 
he moved to Watertown township, Jefferson county, and there remained for 
twenty-one years engaged in general farming, when he moved to Oak Grove 
township, where he still resides. He bought land which he operated and im- 
proved for a number of years, selling it in order to purchase one hundred and 
five acres in the same section, which he still owns. He has, however, rented out 
this property and is living retired. 

Mr. Gronert married Miss Wilhelmina Coplenc. who was born in Prussia. 



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November 20, 1864, a daughter of August and Sophia (Schultz) Coplene, 
natives of that country. They came to America in 1864 and settled in Jefferson 
county, coming eventually to Dodge county, where they made their home with 
the subject of this review until they died. Mr. and Mrs. Gronert have two 
children: Anna, who is residing at home; and Mary, who is the wife of Herman 
Schultz, a farmer of this section, by whom she has one child. Arthur. 

Mr. Gronert is independent in his political views and never seeks public 
office. He is a member of the German Lutheran church. In all the relations of 
his life he has shown a progressive spirit and a policy of gradual expansion 
and these qualities directed toward agriculture made him thriving and pros- 
perous during his active life and an important factor in local development. 



Michael Manning, engaged in farming and stock-raising, making a specialty 
of Holstein cattle, has a well improved and attractive place, neatness and thrift 
characterizing his farm, while substantial buildings, kept in good repair, are 
indicative of his progressive spirit. He was born in the town of Clyman, De- 
cember 19, 1855. His father, Thomas Manning, a native of Ireland, was born 
in 1809 and was eighty-nine years of age when he departed this life. He came 
to America in 1844 and devoted his attention to farming, gradually acquiring a 
section of land in Dodge county. He married Anna Smith, who was born in 
Ireland and died in Clyman at the age of fifty-eight years. They were members 
of St. John's Catholic church of Clyman and Mr. Manning gave his political 
allegiance to the democratic party but was never active in politics aside from 
voting for the principles in which he believed. 

Michael Manning spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farm lads, 
dividing his time between the obtainment of an education and the work of the 
fields. He continued to assist his father in the cultivation and improvement of 
the old homestead until twenty-seven years of age, when he received from his 
father the farm upon which he now resides, comprising eighty acres of good 
land. His fields return to him a substantial income for the care and labor he 
bestows upon them, for his methods are both practical and progressive. He has 
added substantial improvements to his place, erecting all of the buildings upon 
his farm, including the residence, barn and sheds, which furnish ample shelter 
for grain and stock, The land was largely covered with timber when it came 
into his possession, but he has cleared away most of the trees, the timber bring- 
ing him a good price. His entire attention is devoted to farming in its various 
branches and in addition to tilling the fields he carries on stock-raising and dairy- 
ing, owning a herd of high-grade Holstein cattle. His farm presents a most 
attractive appearance, for the buildings are in a state of good repair, the fences 
are well kept and the fields arc carefully tilled. 

Mr. Manning was married in 1890 to Miss Mary J. Fitzpatrick, who was 
born in the town of Portland, this county, October 14. 1870, a daughter of 
Francis and Mary A. Fitzpatrick. The father was born in Soaptown, Ohio, 
and is now living at Waterloo, Jefferson county, Wisconsin. The mother's birth 



MICHAEL MANNING. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



173 



occurred in Sing Sing, New York, and she also survives. Mr. and Mrs. Man- 
ning became the parents of six children: Loretta, born August 27, 1891, is the 
wife of Edward Langer, and Marcella, born April 4, 1893, the wife of Eugene 
Becker. Both were well known teachers in Dodge county. Magdaline was born 
February 16, 1895. Edwin, born January 14, 1897, is attending school in Juneau. 
Cyril, born March 20, 1899, is a student in the high school at Waterloo. Berna- 
dette, born December 9, 1904, is a pupil in the district schools. The family hold 
membership in St. John's Catholic church at Clyman. 

Mr. Manning gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and is a 
most active and prominent worker in its ranks. He has attended several of its 
state conventions as a delegate and is known to most of the political leaders of 
Wisconsin. For two years he served as county coroner and is now a candidate 
for that office. He has been chairman of the town board for ten years and he 
is a school director of his district. For several terms he filled the office of jus- 
tice of the peace and his decisions were ever strictly fair and impartial. He is 
a lover of music and plays the violin, his music forming one of the attractive 
features of the home. A lifelong resident of Clyman township, he has witnessed 
the changes which have occurred here through more than a half century and 
is interested in ill that tends to promote public progress and improvement. 



ALGERNON' FREDERICK NOYES. 

Algernon Frederick Noyes, deceased, was throughout his active business 
career successfully identified with general agricultural pursuits in Dodge county, 
passing away on the farm where he was born and which had been acquired by 
his father from the government. His birth occurred on the 1st of November, 
1848, his parents being S. N. and Mary Ann (Curtis) Noyes. The father, who 
was born July 19, 1818, died January 1, 1878, and the mother, whose birth oc- 
curred December 16, 1812, passed away December 6, 1903, at the remarkable 
age of ninety-one years. The father was a native of New Hampshire, while 
the mother came to this country from England in 1847. Nicholas Noyes was the 
first of the family to come to America, leaving the mother country in 1634 and 
settling in New England. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Isaac Noyes, 
was born in 1776 and became the father of S. Newel Noyes. The latter took up 
government land in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and devoted his attention to its 
cultivation throughout the remainder of his life. He taught school in the winter 
seasons both before and after his marriage and proved a capable instructor, 
imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge which he had acquired. 
His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he took an active 
interest in the work of the Assembly Presbyterian church of Beaver Dam, of 
which he was a charter member. To him and his wife were born four children, 
as follows: A. F., of this review; G. H., who is a resident of Cogswell, North 
Dakota; Mrs. F.da I.. Atwood, residing in Tcmpleton, Wisconsin; and Clarence, 
who died in infancy. 

A. F. Noyes attended the graded and high schools of Beaver Dam until six- 
teen years of age and after putting aside his text-books worked on the home 



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farm with his father until he attained his majority. He spent the following 
four years in Minnesota, when he was married and made his home for two years 
in the city of Beaver Dam before returning to the home farm. In the further 
cultivation and improvement of that property he was busily engaged during the 
remainder of his life, annually harvesting crops which yielded him a gratifying 
income. Gradually as his means permitted, he extended the boundaries of his 
farm and at the time of his death owned seven hundred acres of valuable land. 
He took an active part in the work of the Farmers' Institute and likewise served 
as president of the Beaver Dam Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He died 
November 9, 1895. 

On the 15th of December, 1873, Mr. Noyes was united in marriage to Miss 
Amy Baker, a daughter of William and Ann (Bradley) Baker. Mr. and Mrs. 
Noyes were the parents of three children: Bessie A.; Frederick A., who died 
in infancy, and William B., who is a student in Brown University at Providence, 
Rhode Island, and intends to pursue a special course in agriculture at Madison. 
Mr. Noyes was a republican in politics and a Presbyterian in religious faith. 
In his passing the community lost one of its substantial and esteemed citizens. 
His widow, who survives him, has an extensive circle of friends in Beaver Dam, 
where she makes her home. 



ROY M. FLETCHER. 

As secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Hustisford Canning 
Company, Roy M. Fletcher is active in the control of one of the important busi- 
ness enterprises of this district. He is one of Hustisford's native sons, his birth 
occurring on the nth of January, 1876, a son of David J. and Polly (Baker) 
Fletcher. The family is one of the oldest in Dodge county, having been estab- 
lished here at an early date by Daniel Fletcher, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, since which time representatives of the name have been active in the 
material development and public life of the district. Daniel Fletcher was born 
near Montreal, Canada, October 15, 181 2, and came to Wisconsin in the fall of 
1845, stopping in Milwaukee for a short time. He then made his way to Hus- 
tisford, settling on a farm east of the village, where he continued to reside until 
his death in the fall of 1893. He was chairman of the township board of super- 
visors and also served for one term as a member of the legislature. He married 
Miss Emily Morgan, who was born in New York, November 27, 1817, and 
passed away but one week prior to the death of her husband. Their son David 
James Fletcher was born in Hustisford, March 17, 1846, and in the acquirement 
of his education attended the district school and also was a student for two terms 
in the Wayland Academy at Beaver Dam. Reared to agricultural pursuits, he 
has always been engaged in that line of activity. A"t the age of twenty-two years 
he went to Nebraska where he took up one hundred, and sixty acres of govern- 
ment land near Lyons and also purchased one hundred and sixty acres, there 
remaining for six years. He then sold out his interests in that state and returned 
to Dodge county, purchasing property near Hustisford upon which he still resides. 
He owns two hundred and twenty-one and a half acres which he rents to the 



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175 



Hustisford Canning Company. He has given his attention to general farming, 
in which he has met with most gratifying success, and expects to retire from 
active life in the fall of 191 2 and take up his abode in the village of Hustisford. 
David Fletcher was married on the 5th of October, 1874, to Miss Polly S. 
Baker, who was born in Hustisford township in 1851. She is a daughter of 
George and Deborah (Van Btaricon) Baker, natives of New York state and 
Canada respectively, their marriage-, however, occurring in Hustisford town- 
ship. The father gave his entire life to the occupation of farming and became 
an extensive land owner in Dodge county. He also won considerable local note 
as a breeder of Devonshire cattle, in which occupation he was engaged until his 
death about 1886. He had survived his wife for many years, her death occur- 
ring in 1865. A republican in politics, he held various local offices and was 
among the well known and prominent residents of Dodge county. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. David Fletcher were born five children of whom Roy M. Fletcher is 
the eldest. The others are as follows : Anna, who is assistant cashier in the 
Hustisford State Bank ; Waldo, whose death occurred in Arizona in March, 
191 1 ; Daniel B., a resident of Chicago; and Edwin, who makes his home in 
Hustisford. David Fletcher gives his political support to the republican party 
and for a number of years has served as school clerk of the district. A life- 
long resident of Wisconsin, for more than six decades David Fletcher has been 
a witness of its growth and development. Born two years prior to the admis- 
sion of the state to the Union, he has seen many of the changes that have occurred 
within her borders during the intervening years and has ever been deeply inter- 
ested and has aided as far as possible in the work of improvement and progress. 

On the old homestead near Hustisford, Roy M. Fletcher, whose name intro- 
duces this review, was reared and in the district school he acquired his early 
education. Later he attended the public schools of Hustisford and also had the 
benefit of a course of study in the Spencerian Business College, attending that 
institution in 1893-94. Thus well equipped by a good business training, at the 
early age of eighteen he accepted a position as traveling salesman or expert for 
the McCormick Harvester Company, and remained with that well known firm 
for eight years, his long continuance therewith indicating his capability and 
faithfulness in the discharge of his duties. He then became . identified with the 
canning business in connection with the Hustisford Canning Company, to which 
he has since given his entire time and attention. He is now serving as secretary, 
treasurer and general manager, and as such he is exhibiting administrative ability 
and executive control. The firm has a large volume of trade and is one of the 
principal enterprises of Hustisford, and as one of its officers Mr. Fletcher stands 
prominent among the business men of his community. 

It was on the 29th of August, 1002, that Mr. Fletcher was united in marriage 
to Miss Alice Fisher, who was born September 14, 1880, at West Bend, Wiscon- 
sin, a daughter of Wilson and Alice (Case) Fisher. Her parents are natives 
of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin respectively, the father born on the 12th of 
November, 1848, and the mother April 19, 1846. In early manhood Mr. Fisher 
was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church but later became a traveling 
salesman while at present he is acting as bookkeeper in the employ of a paper 
manufacturing company. To Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher two children have been 



176 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



born: Audrey, whose birth occurred on the 18th of September, 1906; and Roy, 
Jr., born in July, 1909. 

In politics Mr. Fletcner is an independent republican and has served as vil- 
lage trustee since the incorporation of Hustisford. He is well known in fraternal 
circles, his membership being in the blue lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Neosho; Hori- 
con Chapter, R. A. M., at Horicon; and Olivet Commandery, No. 18, K. T., at 
Watertown, while he also belongs to the Eastern Star and Woodmen camp. 
The fundamental principles underlying these orders have found exemplification 
in the life of Roy M. Fletcher, whose record has been that of an honorable 
gentleman and upright business man, who is respected by all with whom he comes 
in contact and whose circle of friends is almost coextensive with the circle of his 
acquaintance. 



RAY W. BAYLEY. 

Ray W. Bayley, who is successfully engaged in business as a jeweler in 
Beaver Dam, first gained recognition here as an expert watchmaker and opti- 
cian. He was born in Trenton township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and is a 
son of Frank W. Bayley, whose brothers and sisters were named as follows: 
Robinson, Gustavus, S. E., Hannah, Mary, Minerva and Alanson. Frank W. 
Bayley, the father of our subject, was engaged in agriculture upon an extensive 
tract of land six miles north of Beaver Dam and was prosperous and success- 
ful in this line of activity until he passed away in 1886 at the age of thirty- 
four years. Unto him and his wife were born four children, as follows: Ray 
W., of this review ; Guy M., who died at the age of nine years; Madge W., who 
also passed away in the ninth year of her age ; and Inez M. 

Ray W. Bayley received his education in the public schools of Beaver Dam 
and graduated from the high school of that city in 1902. In the fall of that 
year he entered upon an apprenticeship in the jewelry trade which he served 
out in the fall of 1905, at which time he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
where he perfected himself in the art of watchmaking and engraving with spe- 
cial attention to the study of optics in the Philadelphia College of Horology 
and Optics. After completing his course he remained in that institution for 
some time as assistant instructor in engraving. In the fall of 1906 he returned 
to Beaver Dam and entered the employ of W. H. Becken as watchmaker and 
engraver. He was ambitious, energetic and economical, and after four years 
was able to buy a partnership in the business. On March 1, 191 1, one year 
after he had been taken into partnership, he bought out the entire interest of 
Mr. Becken in the business and since that time has conducted the enterprise 
prosperously and successfully by himself. 

On June 12, 1907, Mr. Bayley was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Q. 
Grolling, a daughter of Charles Grolling. Mrs. Bayley is one of eleven chil- 
dren born to her parents, the others being as follows : Henry, Charles. Gustaf , 
Ernest, Edith, Minnie, Carrie, Anna. Emma and George. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Bayley has been born one child. Gilbert, whose birth occurred on November 
16, 1009. 



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In his political views Mr. Bayley is a republican and usually votes the party 
ticket, although he never seeks office. He is a blue lodge Mason, holding 
membership also in the chapter, and he is affiliated with the Order of the East- 
ern Star. He holds the position of junior deacon in Dodge County Lodge, 
No. 72, F. & A. M., and is affiliated with the Presbyterian church. He has 
gained that prosperity which results from earnest and well directed labor and is 
accounted one of the leading business men in his locality. He unites in his 
character the qualities of thrift and determination which are a solid basis for 
success. 



FRANK RICHTER. 

Frank Richter owns and cultivates a farm on section 15, Clyman township, 
and in addition rents a tract of land which he is also developing. His place 
is neat and thrifty in appearance, is improved with many substantial buildings, 
and dairying is made a special feature of his farm work. From his boyhood 
days Frank Richter has lived in this county but is a native of Austria, born 
June 21. 1864. His parents were Frank and Anna (Worst) Richter, also na- 
tives of that country. After losing his first wife the father married Barbara 
Schmeiser, who was likewise born in Austria and is still living. After coming 
to the new world Frank Richter, Sr., followed farming in Dodge county, 
where he made his home until his death, in 1907. His political allegiance was 
given to the democratic party and his religious faith was that of St. John's 
Catholic church. 

In his youthful days Frank Richter, whose name introduces this review, 
worked for his father, but when he had attained his majority started out in 
life for himself and remained in the employ of others as a farm hand for 
about eight years. He afterward spent five years in Chicago, on the expira- 
tion of which period he returned to this county and worked on his father-in- 
law's place for four years. He next purchased the farm upon which he now 
resides, comprising one hundred and seventeen acres of rich and productive 
land on section 15 and 16, Clyman township. He also cultivates another place 
which he rents from D. Lynch, so that his farming interests are extensive and 
important. He has improved his home place in many ways, including the 
erection of modern buildings. He added twenty feet to his barn and erected 
a new and comfortable residence twenty by thirty feet. His place bespeaks 
care and industry and is visible evidence of his success. The products of his 
dairy find a ready sale on the market and bring high prices. He is treasurer 
of the cheese factory at North Clyman. 

Mr. Richter was married in 1891 to Miss Philemina Neis, who was born 
in Clyman, March 5, 1865, a daughter of Peter Neis, who was a farmer of 
this county and died in June, 1906. The mother, who bore the maiden name 
of Mary Winker, is still living on the farm west of Clyman. Mr. and Mrs. 
Richter have become the parents of eight children, Jennie. Frank, Rose, Clar- 
ence, Blanche, Elizabeth, Edwin John and Walter Joseph, all of whom are 
at home with the exception of the eldest, who is the wife of Emil Roffeis. 



178 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. Richter gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and has 
been called to a number of local offices, serving as supervisor, treasurer and 
as chairman of the local board for one term each. He has also been treasurer 
of school district No. 4 for eleven years and has been treasurer of St. John's 
church for six years — these offices indicating the trust reposed in him. He 
also holds membership in the Catholic Knights and in St. John's Catholic church 
at Clyman. It is his intention to make his present farm his permanent home 
and the careful management of his interests here is bringing to him merited 
success. 



Dr. Philip Panetti, devoting his life to the practice of medicine in Hustis- 
ford, was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, December 19. 1870, and 
is the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children. He is a son of 
Ernst F. and Barbara A. (Gammier) Panetti, both of whom were natives of 
Germany. The paternal grandfather was a native of Italy and served with 
Napoleon in his wars, acting as surgeon in a number of important engage- 
ments. The father, who was a practicing physician, was born in Ansbach, 
Bavaria, while the mother's birth occurred in Baden Baden. It was in the 
year 1848 that Dr. Ernst F. Panetti arrived in America, following the outbreak 
of the revolution in his native country. He traveled to some extent in the south 
and was in New Orleans during the yellow fever epidemic. Later he took up 
his abode in Baltimore, where he practiced his profession to the time of his 
death, about 1886. He served as deputy United States marshal of the Baltimore 
district and was otherwise prominent in public affairs aside from his profes- 
sion. His widow still remains a resident of Baltimore. 

Dr. P. A. Panetti attended the public schools of his native city and afterward 
spent four years as a student under the direction of Professor P. B. Wilson, 
city chemist of Baltimore. Subsequently he attended the Baltimore University 
Medical School and afterward entered the University of Louisville, from which 
he was graduated with the class of 1892. In the years 1894 and 1895 he was 
assistant professor of chemistry in the University of Baltimore. He was twenty- 
two years of age when he began the practice of medicine following his 
graduation, devoting his time and energies to his chosen calling in his native 
city for six years, after which he removed to the middle west and has since 
remained in general practice in Hustisford. He is now medical examiner for 
several life insurance companies and in addition he has a large general prac- 
tice which he carefully and successfully handles, for he has ever been a thorough 
student of the great scientific principles which underlie his work and also of 
the practical phases of his profession. 

On the 15th of April, 1897, Dr. Panetti was married to Miss Emma Smith, 
who was born in Baltimore, August 16, 1879. and is a daughter of Frederick 
W. and Margaret Anna (Roemer) Smith, who were also natives of Germany. 
The father was a cigar manufacturer and both he and his wife died in Balti- 
more. Dr. and Mrs. Panetti have two children: Philip Allen, born June 13, 



PHILIP A. PANETTI, M. D. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



179 



1900; and Margaret Anna, born February 23, 1909. The family is prom- 
inent socially in Hustisford and their circle of friends is an extensive one. Dr. 
Panetti is well known in fraternal connections, holding membership with the 
Modern Woodmen of America, the United Order of Foresters and the Royal 
Neighbors, while in Masonry he has attained high rank in the York Rite. He 
belongs to Neosho Lodge, No. 108, F. & A. M., in which he has served as junior 
warden; Horicon Chapter, R. A. M. ; and Olivet Commandery, K. T., at Wa- 
tertown. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he is 
now serving as village health officer. For about nine years he filled the office 
of clerk of the school board of Hustisford and was a member of the board 
of directors for four years. The cause of education finds in him a warm 
friend and he is a stanch supporter of all those influences and measures which 
are valuable features in the life and progress of every community. He holds 
to high ideals in his chosen line of work and with a sense of conscientious 
obligation discharges every professional duty. 



MAJOR PHILIP J. ZINK. 

Philip J. Zink holds the rank of major in the Wisconsin National Guard 
and has a record of twenty-five years of continuous service as a member of 
that organization. He is an expert in military tactics and in army maneuvers 
and has seen active duty in the Spanish-American war as a member of the 
Porto Rican Corps. He was born October 23, 1870, and is a son of Philip 
and Frances (Hammer) Zink, both natives of Germany. They were born' near 
Berlin and were married in Wisconsin in 1859. The father came to America 
in 1842 and located immediately in Beaver Dam, where he followed the coop- 
er's trade for many years. He was democratic in his political views and gave 
his allegiance to the Roman Catholic church. He died in Beaver Dam in 1900 
but his wife survives him and is living in Milwaukee. They were the parents 
of ten children, Joseph, Frances, Annie. Mary, Emma, Philip, Kunnie, Frank, 
John and William. 

Philip J. Zink was educated in the public schools of Beaver Dam and in the 
local parochial institutions. He laid aside his books at the age of fifteen years 
and worked at the cooper's trade for two years. For thirteen years he was 
employed in a woolen mill and then was identified for a year with the mills of 
the Malleable Iron Range Company. He subsequently bought a half-partnership 
in a cafe conducted by Louis Schulze and this business is now conducted under 
the name of Schulze & Zink's Cafe. He has from an early period been prom- 
inently connected with military affairs. His army career began on September 
13, 1888, when he enlisted in Company K, Second Regiment, Wisconsin Na- 
tional Guard. His advance was rapid and continuous. He was made corporal 
in 1893 and in the following year was promoted to the rank of sergeant, later 
becoming second lieutenant. In 1896 he was promoted captain and served in 
this capacity until 1898, when he was mustered out of the state guard and im- 
mediately thereafter entered the United States army as a member of the Wis- 
consin Volunteers. This body of soldiers was mustered out on the 19th of 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



November, of the same year, and was immediately reorganized with Philip J. 
Zink as captain. He earned his promotion to the rank of major in 1909 and 
has since held this commission. He saw active duty in the Spanish-American 
war as a member of the Porto Rican Corps and is regarded an expert in military 
affairs. 

On January 26, 1898, Major Zink was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Hartle, a daughter of Jacob and Frances (Schweiger) Hartle, in whose fam- 
ily were nine children, Mary, Lucas, Edward, Michael, Alma, Fred, Jacob, 
Raymond and Bernard. To Major and Mrs. Zink have been born five chil- 
dren, of whom four passed away in infancy. Arthur, whose natal day was 
March 8. 1906, is the only child living. Major Zink is a consistent democrat 
and always votes the party ticket. He affiliates with the Roman Catholic 
church. 



ALFRED CLOUGH. 

Alfred Clough who died in Beaver Dam, November 14, 1903, was an ex- 
pert machinist and had followed that line of occupation since he was twenty- 
one years of age, obtaining distinct success by reason of his industry, determina- 
tion and practical knowledge. He had been a resident of Wisconsin since he 
was three years old, but was born in Canaan, Vermont, on tbe 7th of August, 
1845. His parents were Obadiah and Dorothy (Morrison) Clough, who came 
to Wisconsin in 1848, where the father took up two hundred acres of land 
near Rolling Prairie which he improved and operated until his death, which 
occurred in May, 1900. His wife survived him until September of the same 
year and both are buried in Highland cemetery, near Rolling Prairie. 

Alfred Clough was the second in a family of nine children. He grew up 
on his father's farm and was educated in the district schools of his native 
section. When he was twenty-one years of age he left Dodge county and went 
to Minnesota, where he purchased land and followed general farming for some 
time. He returned at length to Dodge county where he worked at the machin- 
ist's trade in Horicon, later following the same occupation in Beaver Dam. 
He was an expert machinist and well versed in the technical details of his oc- 
cupation, basing a distinct and substantial prosperity upon his industry and 
efficiency. He worked until three years before his death, when failing health 
compelled his retirement. 

On September 27, 1871, Mr. Clough was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
McFarland, a daughter of James and Mary McFarland, the former a native 
of New York state and the latter of Ohio. Both had lived in Wisconsin since 
their early childhood and were married in Oak Grove, Dodge county. James 
McFarland was an intelligent student of natural history and pursued his studies 
in association with his uncle, Dr. Asa Fitch, a well known naturalist. He came 
to Dodge county when he was twenty-one years of age and engaged in gen- 
eral farming, following this line of occupation until the outbreak of the Civil 
war when he enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment. He was killed in the engage- 
ment at Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, and was buried on the battlefield. ITis wife 



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afterward sold the farm and went to Oak Grove, later coming to Beaver Dam 
where she is now living in the eighty-fifth year of her age. Mrs. Clough was 
the eldest in a family of four children and was born on March 9, 1853. She 
and her husband became the parents of six children: William, who lives in 
Oshkosh, is married and has five children; George, who is married and resides 
in Beaver Dam: Frank, of Beaver, who is married and has one child; Lutie, 
who is engaged in the millinery business in Beaver Dam ; Cora, who is em- 
ployed in a store in the same city; and Blanche, who is engaged as a mail 
clerk in the range works in Beaver Dam. 

Mr. Clough was a republican in his political beliefs. He was a devout 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was well known in Dodge 
county as a man of exemplary life. He had many friends in the section in 
which he resided since he was three years of age, and his death was the occa- 
sion of deep and widespread regret. 



RICHARD A. GOEGGERLE. 

Richard A. Goeggerle is one of the progressive and successful merchants of 
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and is widely known as a man who by his excellent 
business ability has built up a flourishing grocery establishment, which is 
counted among the most reliable mercantile enterprises in the city. He was 
born on November 1, 1878, in the city in which he is now residing. His parents 
were Anton H. and Magdalene (Ingerl) Goeggerle, the former born May 22, 
1840, and the latter May 16, 1833. The father of our subject was a native of 
Germany and spent his childhood and youth in that country. During his term of 
military service he took part in one of the wars of Prussia in the latter half of 
the nineteenth century. He came to America in 1866, settling in Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, where he followed his trade of blacksmithing until 1890. He is 
now living retired and has many friends in this city who regard him as an 
enterprising and representative man. He and his wife became the parents of 
three children: John J., of Ashland, Wisconsin; Martha M., now Mrs. J. Miller, 
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Richard A., the subject of this sketch. The 
mother of our subject had two children by a former marriage, Joseph and 
Helen Patzlsperger, who are both residing in Ashland. Wisconsin. 

Richard A. Goeggerle was educated in the parochial and public schools of 
Beaver Dam and pursued his education until he was sixteen years of age. [n 
1906 he entered into partnership with William Skahen and purchased the grocery 
business belonging to August Schade. The enterprise was conducted under the 
name of Skahen & Goeggerle for a short time" and was afterward known as 
Goeggerle Brothers for one year. At the end of that time Richard Goeggerle 
took entire charge of the business and has since conducted it independently 
with increasing success. The zeal with which he has devoted his energies to 
the expansion of his business, the careful attention which he gives to his 
customers and the tasteful and attractive arrangement of his store have brought 
him a large business and have made him very successful in its conduct. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



In his political affiliations Mr. Goeggerle is a consistent democrat and al- 
ways votes the party ticket. He belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and 
is trustee of St. Peter's Benevolent Society. He is a devout Roman Catholic 
to which religion his father also gives his allegiance. His business methods 
are at all times straightforward and honorable and the prosperous business which 
he has built upon this worthy foundation is a fitting tribute to his ability and 



JOHN BRAYMAN. 

John Brayman, deceased, was one of the first and most prominent pioneers 
in the agricultural development of Dodge county and a man who for many years 
gave most of his time and attention to the development of one of the repre- 
sentative industries of his section. He was born in Clinton county, New York, 
March 9, 1807, and from an early age was identified with farming. He became 
the owner of a farm in Chautauqua county. New York, and developed and im- 
proved his holdings until 1843. In that year he started west with his family, 
traveling overland across the plains. For a year and a half he remained at 
Waukegan, Illinois, but in 1845 came to Dodge county and took up a tract of 
government land, a part of which is within the present town limits of Horicon. 
He developed, improved and cultivated this tract until 1849 and P ut ' l mto 
excellent condition by his care and labor. When the great gold discoveries were 
made in California in 1849 he mortgaged his Wisconsin farm, paying thirty per 
cent interest on the amount of money he obtained. With this capital he went to 
the Pacific coast and spent three years in mining and prospecting. He did not, 
however, meet with any great success and in 1852 returned to Wisconsin and 
settled upon his farm. In the same year he left his original property and bought 
another tract near Lake Horicon and the old Horicon cemetery, upon which 
he lived for a number of years. Finally he disposed of this also and went to 
Illinois and later to Nebraska, where he took up land and was successful as a 
general agriculturist until he went to Iowa and made his home in Independence, 
where his death occurred. His passing was widely regretted throughout Dodge 
county, where he had lived so many years and where his activities had been 
valuable factors in development. His integrity, energy and straightforward policy 
combined with his many qualities of mind and heart to make his name honored 
and respected wherever it was known. 

In 1832 Mr. Brayman married Miss Hannah Krouskop Sands, who was born 
on the Delaware river in New York state, October 7, 181 3. She was a descendant 
of Captain James Sands, of Block Island, a native of England, and prominent 
and influential in that country and America. Mr. and Mrs. Brayman became 
the parents of eight children. The eldest son, Orin, was born August 9, 1836, 
and died in Horicon, June 9, 1852. The second child was a daughter, Mary, 
whose birth occurred July 20, 1838. She came with her father to this section 
of Wisconsin and lived upon a farm which later became a part of the city of 
Horicon before the village was laid out. She was a member of the first school 
established in Horicon. The summer school was held in a barn and the accom- 



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modations as well as the courses of study offered were extremely limited. How- 
ever, Miss Bray man made use of every opportunity and by constant and wide 
reading fitted herself for teaching and has since become one of the most prominent 
educators in this part of the state, where she has done able work in raising 
standards of efficiency and developing better and more adequate methods. She 
first taught in the district schools but when Mr. Pickett came to Horicon as 
principal of the first high school of the village she was appointed his assistant 
and did able work in this capacity until she went to Janesville, where she re- 
mained for five years and four months. At the end of that time she went to 
Whitewater and there for two years taught in the normal school before she went 
to Fredonia, New York. Her intention in making this move was to get the 
advantage of a broader education along her special line and to get in touch with 
other systems and methods. She accordingly took a normal course under Dr. 
Armstrong and after completing it went to her aunt's home at Sherman, New 
York, where she remained a short time. However, she was soon given a posi- 
tion by Dr. Armstrong, her duties being to introduce a primary department in 
the normal schools. In the beginning of the following year she went to Platte- 
ville, Wisconsin, and taught in the normal school in that city for twelve years. 
Her health failing, she was obliged to give up her work and she went to Nuckolls 
county, Nebraska, where she had previously invested her savings in a tract of 
wild land. She remained upon this property for six years and during that time 
transformed it from an undeveloped state into one of the finest and most in- 
telligently managed farms in the section. Upon her six hundred acres of land 
she built a modern residence, equipped with all conveniences and luxuries and 
she made this her home for some time. It was, however, wrecked by a cyclone 
and Miss Brayman was herself severely injured. Her leg was broken and the 
physician in attendance did not set the bone correctly and Miss Brayman was 
obliged to have it broken a second time. However, she eventually recovered and 
after selling her land went to the state of Washington, where she invested in 
real estate on the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, near Prosser. Gradually 
she added to her holdings until she owned three fine farms. Two of these she 
has since sold but still holds title to a large tract of land in that vicinity. She 
has definitely established her home in Horicon and is taking a well earned rest 
after useful labor. She is a woman of broad culture and wide reading and has 
traveled extensively through Europe. She was upon the continent in 1881 at 
the time of President Garfield's assassination and at this time she also visited 
Palestine and the surrounding countries, returning to America in the following 
year. Her career is an effective demonstration of the fact that business ability 
is not by any means monopolized by men. During the years of her identifica- 
tion with teaching she did important work in expansion, development and sys- 
tematizing and when her activities were devoted to more purely business affairs 
she showed a shrewdness, discernment and executive force which soon brought 
her well deserved success. She has, however, other claims to the high respect 
and esteem in which she is held, for she is a splendid example of the modern 
woman of unusual ability along various lines, and her fine qualities of mind and 
heart have greatly endeared her to her many friends. 

The third child born to Mr. and Mrs. John Brayman was Julia, whose birth 

occurred in New York, August 25, 1840. She married, on September 12, 1864, 
rot n-i 1 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Thomas McNeill, who saw active service during the Civil war and was the first 
Union soldier to take a prisoner at the battle of Bull Run. Mrs. McNeill died 
January 5, 1865. Rhoda Ann was born October 9, 1842, and married, on Novem- 
ber J 7, 1868, M. L. Schermerhorn, of Lynn, Nebraska. Marshall was born 
September 12, 1845, in Horicon, and he resides in Ludington, Michigan. He 
is a veteran of the Civil war and was active for two periods of enlistment, serving 
for the second time under General Brayman. He married, on September 28, 
1870, Miss Carrie H. King, whose birth occurred August 20, 1848. Milton was 
born July 2, 1848, and married, on November 1, 1867, Miss Delia De Bois. The 
later years of his life were spent in California and he died in that state, May 
30, 1909. Hester Helena was born July 20, 1850, and married, on September 
25, 1874, D. H. Dowland, a dry-goods merchant in Spokane, Washington. His 
birth occurred September 21, 1850. The youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. 
John Brayman was Lovena Amanda, whose birth occurred June 24, 1853. She 
married, on June 10, 1873, J. W. Kern, a railroad agent at Doniphan, Nebraska. 
Mrs. Kern died on the 16th of June, 1888. 



HENRY M. HOLTZ, M. D. 

Dr. Henry M. Holtz is one of the prominent physicians of Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, and has built up during the years of his residence in this city a 
rapidly growing practice based upon efficiency and professional skill. He was 
born January 31, 1871, in Portland, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and is a son of 
George and Sophia (Fuhrmann) Holtz. His father was born in Germany on 
October 10, 1841, and left his native country for America in 1852. He came 
to Elba, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and engaged in agriculture until 1902, when 
he retired from active life and removed to Columbus where he died shortly 
afterward, on the 3d of April, 1902. His wife was born on December 26, 
1846. She is still living in Columbus, Wisconsin, in her sixty-sixth year. Mr. 
and Mrs. George Holtz were the parents of three children : Anna, who is 
Mrs. Bucholz of Hitchcock, South Dakota; William, who resides in Portland; 
and Henry, the subject of this sketch. 

Dr. Holtz was educated in Elba district school No. 8, and pursued his studies 
until he was twenty years of age. He supplemented this education by two 
years in college at Berea, Ohio. He later entered the Hahnemann Medical 
School in Chicago and was graduated therefrom in 1897. He received a de- 
gree from Rush Medical College in 1898, also going through both medical col- 
leges. He located immediately for practice in Beaver Dam and has been steadily 
gaining in prominence and prosperity since that time. He is affiliated with the 
Wisconsin and Dodge County Medical Societies and always keeps abreast of 
the times by exhaustive and practical reading. 

On the 22d of June, 1904, Dr. Holtz was united in marriage to Miss Minnie 
Rissman, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Rissman of Beaver Dam. Mrs. 
Holtz' parents are both dead. Her mother passed away at the age of fifty 
years and her father when he was eighty-one years of age. In his political views 
Dr. Holtz coincides with the republican party, to which organization his father 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



187 



also belonged. He is active in all phases of the medical profession and served 
as city physician of Beaver Dam with great ability in 1904. His success has 
been achieved by reason of intellectual attainment and his professional skill, 
and is the direct result of progressive methods and scientific efficiency. 



R. P. BINZEL. 

R. P. Binzel is at the head of an extensive brewing business in Beaver Dam, 
and the enterprise and close application which he displays in its conduct have 
been the salient qualities in his success. He was born in Germany, a son of 
John P. Binzel, who was a native of Germany. On coming to this country he 
embarked in the brewing business in Milwaukee, and for forty-four years he 
was the owner of the brewery which is now in possession of his son, R. P. 
Binzel, and Xavier Weix. He held to high standards in the manufacture of 
beer and won a place among the representative business men of the city. His 
death occurred February 21, 1901, when he was seventy years of age. 

His son, R. P. Binzel, was educated in the public and high schools, which 
he attended until sixteen years of age, when he began working in the brewery 
with his father, acquainting himself with every principle and detail of the busi- 
ness. On the 10th of December, 1906, he purchased the brewery which he is 
still conducting with Xavier Weix as a partner. This brewery has been in oper- 
ation for sixty years and now has a capacity of about ten thousand barrels 
annually. Modern machinery has been installed and scientific processes are 
followed in manufacture, so that the output finds a ready sale with the purchas- 
ing public. 

On the 5th of February, 1001, Mr. Binzel was united in marriage to Miss 
May Brannick, a daughter of Joseph and Susan Brannick. Mr. and Mrs. Binzel 
have become parents of two sons : Theobold, born November 14, 1902 ; and 
Rudolph F., born June 14, 1910. The religious faith of the family is that of the 
Catholic church. Long a resident of Beaver Dam, Mr. Binzel is widely known 
and is popular among the German-American residents of the city, while in 
business circles he has made for himself a creditable name by his reliable and 
enterprising methods. 



GEORGE E. DRAHEIM. 

George E. Draheim, who lias been acting as mail carrier in Beaver Dam 
since October 13, 1908, was born in Germany, December 31, 1882, a son of 
William Draheim. The parents were natives of the fatherland and came to 
America, settling in Beaver Dam in 1889. Here the father followed the trade 
of shoemaking, which he had learned in his native country, and now has one 
of the prosperous establishments of this kind in the city. 

Mr. Draheim was the fifth in a family of ten children. He was educated 
in the public schools of Beaver Dam and when he was twenty-one began work 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



in the factories of this city. He followed this occupation until October 13, 
1908, when he was appointed mail carrier and has since held that position, 
being today one of the reliable and trustworthy members of the local force. 

On February 5, 1906, Mr. Draheim was united in marriage to Miss Bessie 
Bell Richards, a daughter of Charles H. Richards, of Beaver Dam. Mrs. Dra- 
heim is the eldest in a family of three children and was born on the 6th of 
September. 1886. She and her husband have one daughter, Ethel Marion. In 
his political views Mr. Draheim keeps himself independent of party lines, pre- 
ferring to maintain his freedom of conviction and voting always for the man 
whom he considers best fitted for the position. He is intelligently interested in 
public affairs but never seeks office. He and his family affiliate with the 
Lutheran church. 



The death of Peter Beule on June 18, 1912, marked the passing of one of 
Beaver Dam's most enterprising business men and foremost citizens. For almost 
half of a century he had been identified with commercial and civic development, 
promoting general welfare and accomplishing his own success and contributing 
to that of the city, which was almost his first home in America. He was of 
German origin, being born at Hengesbaeck, Kreis Meschede, Regierungsbezirk 
Arnsberg, Provinz Westphalen, Germany, March 22, 1845. He came to America 
in 1866, landing in Baltimore, on the 17th of June and coming directly to Dodge 
county, where he secured work on a farm in Lomira township. After a short 
period of residence in that section Mr. Beule came to Beaver Dam where he 
entered the employ of W. C. Griffith as druggist's apprentice, later forming a 
partnership with Edward Elwell and purchasing his employer's business. This 
association existed for one year after which Mr. Beule conducted the enterprise 
alone until 1898, when he was compelled on account of ill health to take a rest, 
disposing of his drug business. It was in the following year that he was made 
cashier of the German National Bank, which position he was holding at the time 
of his death. He was also a stockholder and director of the bank. He was 
treasurer of the Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Company and the Woolen Manu- 
facturing Company and was connected with the Malleable Iron Range Company, 
his association with these enterprises dating back to the time of their organiza- 
tion. He was also prominent in the affairs of several other local industries and 
was president of the Sun Coal Company of Caryville, Tennessee, at the time 
. of his death. 

Mr. Beule was twice married. His first union was with Miss Mary Fischer, 
whom he wedded in 1872, and who with an infant daughter died one year later. 
On May 13, 1879, he was again married, his second wife being Miss Caroline Sher- 
man of Beaver Dam. To this union three children were born : Arthur F., who 
graduated in law at the State University and whose promising career was cut 
short by death at the age of twenty-three years; Alfred, who died when he was 
twelve years old ; and Myrtha Dorothea, who married Ira E. Burtis of Chicago, 
Illinois, by whom she has one daughter, Caroline. 



PETER BEULE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



189 



In his political affiliations Mr. Beule was a consistent democrat and served 
as a member of the school board for one term. He was a government oil in- 
spector for ten years and did able work along this line. He gave his allegiance 
to the Roman Catholic faith. During his active years he contributed to the 
general growth of Beaver Dam by his efficient and capable management of the 
affairs with which he was directly connected and by his public-spirited interest 
in the growth and upbuilding of some of the most important industries in the 
district. Through his efforts and those of his contemporaries the city has changed 
from a country town to a position where it ranks with foremost manufacturing 
communities of the state. His career dates back to the beginning of municipal 
organization and he witnessed the gradual development and growth as his own 
prominence increased and with it his importance in the commercial world. He 
was ever ready to lend a helping hand to a newly established industry. Judged 
by every modern standard he was a successful man. The work which he did 
he did well, gaining prosperity by adhering to standards of honor and integrity, 
which qualities as elements in his character made him a public-spirited citizen 
and an upright and worthy man. 



CHARLES W. HELBING. 

Charles W. Helbing is conducting a drug business and dealing in allied lines 
in Beaver Dam, gaining recognition as an upright and thoroughly modern busi- 
ness man. He was born in October, 1873, and is a son of Carl and Elizabeth 
(Rose) Helbing. He is of German ancestry, his grandfather, Carl August Hel- 
bing, having been born in that country. The father of Charles Helbing was one of 
four children born to his parents. The others are: Mrs. Sophia Vetter of 
Beaver Dam; Gottfried, deceased; and Fred, who has also passed away. The 
father of our subject followed agricultural pursuits for many years. He was a 
native of Germany and came to America, settling in Dodge county, Wisconsin, 
when, he was a young man. He farmed in this section until 1881 and in that 
year retired, removing to Beaver Dam, where he now lives. He served his 
country in the Federal army during the Civil war. He is a democrat and a 
stanch supporter of the principles of this party. He belongs to the Lutheran 
church. To him and his wife were born four children : Mrs. Emma Butterbrod 
of -Beaver Dam; Johanna, who lives in the same city; Charles W., the subject 
of this review ; and Philip, a resident of Horicon. 

Charles W. Helbing was educated in the public schools of Beaver Dam and 
attended the local high school. He is an expert pharmacist, having been gradu- 
ated from the Wisconsin State University at Madison, receiving his degree of 
Ph. G. in 1894. He has been connected with the drug business since he began 
his active career. When he completed his education he entered the employ of 
Peter Beule and gained a practical experience in his chosen field of endeavor 
which has been a valuable asset to him ever since. He was eventually able to 
buy out the interests of W. D. Chandler and in July, 1897, established himself 
independently in the drug business which he carries on along modem lines 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



He is an expert chemist and pharmacist and gives careful attention to his store, 
and particularly to the prescription department. 

On July 10, 1902, Mr. Helbing married Miss Freda Miller, a daughter of 
Bernard and Frederica Miller, of Trenton, Wisconsin. Mrs. Helbing is one of 
the following children, born to her parents: Mrs. August Lidtke of Fox Lake, 
Wisconsin; John E., of Beaver Dam; Bernard, who resides in Trenton, Wiscon- 
sin ; and Mrs. Leon Whitmore, of Beaver Dam. To Mr. and Mrs. Helbing have 
been born three children: Carl Bernard, whose birth occurred on April 16, 
1906; Harry M., born August 22, 1908, who died on the 29th of January, 1910; 
and John Frederick, born on the 7th of December, 191 1. 

In his political views Mr. Helbing is independent and takes a laudable interest 
in public affairs. He is connected with the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Associa- 
tion and his fraternal affiliations include identification with the Masons, in which 
he holds membership in lodge and chapter. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum 
and is also prominent in the affairs of the Tribe of Ben Hur. He represents 
high standards in business and honorable and progressive methods. He gives 
his undivided attention to his enterprise and has brought it to a prosperous 
condition by continuous industry. 



Theodore W. Ohnstedt is conducting a general stock farm in Clyman town- 
ship, making a specialty of raising horses and cattle. This is the old homestead 
of the Ohnstedt family and was the birthplace of our subject, whose natal day 
was April 21, 1872. His parents were Henry and Caroline (Klehn) Ohnstedt, 
the former born in Hamburg, Germany, July 5, 1824, and the latter in Prussia 
on the 5th of September, 1842. Mrs. Ohnstedt's father, Daniel Klehn, was a 
blacksmith and after traveling extensively he came to Watertown, Wisconsin, 
in 1853, there establishing a blacksmith shop in 1855. As the years passed by 
he built up a large business which he conducted successfully until 1871, when 
he removed to Seymour and engaged in blacksmithing and farming up to the 
time of his death, which occurred in the year 1885. His widow afterward went 
to live with a daughter at Parkston, South Dakota, and there passed away in 1888. 

Henry Ohnstedt, who was a shepherd in early life, came to the United States 
in 1853 and made his way direct to Watertown. He was married August II, 
1867, and afterward was employed at railroad work and at other occupations. 
At times he spent the summer seasons in the harvest fields and also followed 
carpentering. At length by reason of his unfaltering industry and his careful 
expenditure he was enabled to purchase two pieces of residence property in the 
sixth ward, where he established his home and there engaged in raising chickens. 
He then purchased the farm upon which his son Theodore now resides and for 
twenty-eight years was active in its further cultivation and improvement. He 
began here with eighty acres of land to which he added from time to time as his 
financial resources increased until at his death, in 1896, he owned two hundred 
and twenty acres. He was twice married but had no children by his first mar- 
riage. One of Mrs. Ohnstedt's brothers, Daniel Klehn, was a soldier of the 



THEODORE W. OHNSTEDT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



191 



Civil war and was wounded at the time of General Lee's surrender. Mrs. Caro- 
line Ohnstedt survives her husband and lives on the old farm, keeping house 
for her sons. 

In taking up the personal history of Theodore W. Ohnstedt we present to 
our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in this 
locality where he has always resided, living continuously on the old homestead 
from the time of his birth to the present. Since his father's death in April, 
1896, he has had entire charge of the farm and makes stock-raising the leading 
feature of the place, giving his attention chiefly to the raising of good horses and 
cattle. He is one of four children, the others being: George, who was bora 
June 3, 1868, and is a farmer and mechanic living at Landsport, North Dakota; 
Frank, who was born July 3, 1870, and is a farmer residing at Dorchester, Clark 
county, Wisconsin ; and Urania, who was born May 23, 1876, and is still at home. 
Theodore Ohnstedt concentrates his attention and energies upon his farming 
and stock-raising interests, turning aside for no active participation in political 
or public affairs. He finds that his agricultural interests make a continuous 
demand upon his time and his capable management and unfaltering industry 
are important factors in the success which he has achieved. 



PATRICK CALLAHAN. 

For twenty-eight years Patrick Callahan has been carrying on general farm- 
ing on one hundred and sixty-five acres of land on section 14, Clyman township, 
and is accounted one of the most able and successful agriculturists in Dodge 
county. He was born in Clyman township, March 13, 1852, and is a son of 
Charles and Rebecca (Mavis) Callahan, the former a native of Ireland and the 
latter of Pennsylvania. His father came to America in the early '40s and in 
1844 settled on the farm in Dodge county now occupied by his son. He found 
here a tract of unbroken wilderness and the land which he took up was covered 
with a heavy growth of timber. With resolute energy he applied himself to its 
development and improvement and soon had a profitable modern farm, upon 
which he resided until his death, in February, 1872. His wife passed away in 
April, 1888. 

In the acquirement of an education Patrick Callahan attended district school 
in Clyman township and when not engaged with his books aided in the work of 
his father's farm. Upon the latter's death he was joint-heir to the property with 
the other members of the family, but he did not immediately engage in agri- 
cultural pursuits. In May, 1881, he left Wisconsin and went west, where he 
remained for three years engaged in various occupations. When he returned 
he assumed the management of the homestead and in 1895 purchased the in- 
terests of the other heirs and has since been sole owner. He carries on general 
farming and is likewise extensively interested in dairying, keeping a fine herd 
of cows for this purpose. He has constantly followed a policy of improvement 
and during the years has erected the necessary buildings upon his land, includ- 
ing a fine new residence and a granary. AH of his time is given to the manage- 
ment of his farm, which he has made modern and complete in every respect. 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



In 1891 Mr. Callahan was united in marriage to Miss Bridget O'Meara, who 
was born in Oyman township about the year 1862. Her father, Patrick O'Meara, 
was a native of Ireland but died in America. Her mother has also passed away, 
her death having occurred in 1884.. Mr. and Mrs. Callahan have three children : 
Charles, eighteen years of age, who lives at home; Ettie, who is fourteen years 
of age and who is attending public school ; and Clara, aged twelve, who is also 
pursuing her studies. The family are devout members of the Roman Catholic 
church. 

Mr. Callahan gives his allegiance to the democratic party but is not active in 
'public life. His interests are, however, thoroughly identified with those of Cly- 
man township and his long period of work has been an important factor in the 
agricultural development of the section. He has made many friends in this 
locality, who honor him for the success he has won and for the upright and 
honorable methods by which it was attained. 



ROBERT C. DRAKE. 

Robert C. Drake carries on general farming in Gyman township, owning 
and cultivating one hundred and twenty acres of land and at the same time en- 
gaging successfully in the breeding and raising of registered Holstein cattle. 
He was born in New Jersey, June 18, 1853, and is a son of Martin and Sophia 
(McKinley) Drake, who were also natives of the same state. In early life the 
father engaged in merchandising but subsequently turned his attention to farm- 
ing, which he followed in the east until June, 1854, when he tfame with his 
family to Wisconsin. In the fall of the same year he purchased the farm upon 
which his son Robert now resides and made it his home until his life's labors 
were ended in death, on the 2d of May, 1887. His widow afterward removed 
to Oak Grove, where she died about five years later. Mr. Drake was a worthy 
and influential resident of his community and served his township as chairman 
of the board for several terms, was also clerk and treasurer for a number of 
terms and justice of the peace for several years. Every official duty that de- 
volved upon him was promptly, faithfully and capably executed and he was 
accounted one of the substantial residents of the community. 

Robert C. Drake was the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children 
and was only about a year old when brought by his parents to this state, since 
which time he has made his home in Dodge county. His education was acquired 
by attendance at the district schools of Clyman township and his father carefully 
trained him in the work of the fields, so that broad practical experience con- 
stituted the basis of his success. When he began farming on his own account 
at the age of twenty-five years he went to Iowa, where he was employed by others 
for about fifteen months and with this exception he has continuously remained 
in Dodge county. Upon his return he rented the old homestead and following 
his marriage he operated the farm for his mother until her death, when he pur- 
chased eighty acres of the other heirs in the property and came into possession 
of the home place and afterward bought forty-five acres of the old Squire Atwater 
farm. He cultivates the farm in a general way, raising the cereals best adapted 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



to ihe soil and climate, and he also makes a specialty of breeding Holstein cattle, 
keeping some very fine stock. He is a member of the Holstein Association and 
is well known among stock-raisers of this part of the state. 

On the 25th of May, 1887, Mr. Drake was married to Miss Herminc Cruidt, 
who was born in Lebanon township, Dodge county, a daughter of Adolph and 
Emily Cruidt, who were natives of Germany and who became early settlers of 
this county, living for many years in Lebanon township. The father has long 
since passed away and during the latter part of her life the mother lived with 
her children, passing away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Drake. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Drake have been born three children: Edna, whose birth occurred 
October 2, 1892; Raymond, born February 25, 1804; and Alice, born June 20, 
1897. Mr. Drake has never allied himself with any of the political parties nor 
has he sought or desired public office. He has felt that his time waS better spent 
in devotion to his business interests and he is accounted one of the leading and 
progressive farmers of his community, working along lines that bring to him 
substantial success. 



JOHN LOUIS ZIEGLER. 

The M. Ziegler Brewing Company, Incorporated, is operating one oi the 
most flourishing and prosperous establishments of the kind in Dodge county, 
which, on account of its rapid growth is becoming a vital factor in the commer- 
cial life of Mayville, Wisconsin. At its head and dominating its commercial 
policy is John Louis Ziegler, who has been identified with the business since 
he was fifteen years of age and is regarded as one of the representative busi- 
ness men of Beaver Dam. He is himself an expert malster and is carrying on 
the business which his father founded. He is no unworthy representative of 
an important industry. He was born on October 24, 1858, in Mayville, Wis- 
consin, and is a son of Mathew and Adelheid (Tannhauser) Ziegler. His father 
was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to America in September, 1858. 
He located in Mayville, Wisconsin, and was connected with the brewing busi- 
ness for a number of years. He bought an establishment of his own in 1873 
and incorporated it under the name of the M. Ziegler Brewing Company. He 
was active in its operation and controlled its policy until his death in Feb- 
ruary, 1892. He was one of the prominent citizens of Mayville for many years 
and active in political lines. He served as city treasurer with ability and en- 
ergy, having been elected on the democratic ticket. He was an accomplished 
musician having the true German love of that art and received his education 
along this line in his native country. He was director of the first band in 
Mayville, an organization justly noted in its day, and never gave up his interest 
in music of this character. He was a member of the Roman Catholic church 
and to this faith his wife also gave her allegiance. They were the parents of 
eight children : Frank, deceased ; John Louis, the subject of this sketch ; Emil 
P. ; Edward, who has also passed away ; Eugene, who resides in Mayville ; 
Clotilda, the wife of Dr. Balg of Milwaukee, a doctor of languages; and Adel- 
heid and Willibald, both of whom died in infancy. 

John Louis Ziegler was educated in the public schools of Mayville, but his 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



opportunities along this line were limited. He laid aside his books at the age 
of fourteen years and after spending one year in a tannery entered his father's 
business in a minor capacity. His rise has been gradual. He has been identi- 
fied with almost every position in the brewing industry and in this way has 
gained a detailed knowledge of the various branches of the business. He is 
now in active management of the M. Ziegler Brewing Company and the Louis 
Ziegler Brewery, of Beaver Dam. He is president of the M. Ziegler Brewing 
Company and seven years ago purchased the Goeggerle Brewery, which he 
now owns and operates under the name of the Louis Ziegler Brewery. 

On the 20th of October, 1880, Mr. Ziegler was united in marriage to Miss 
Anna Greiner, a daughter of Joseph and Maria (Brunner) Greiner. Mrs. 
Ziegler's parents were married on October 20, 1857, at Leroy, Wisconsin, and 
made their home in that town for a number of years. The father came to Le- 
roy, Wisconsin, in 1851. The mother is of German ancestry, her father, 
Michael Brunner, coming from Bavaria, Germany, and settling in Leroy in 
185 1. He died in that village in 1878, when he was eighty-nine years of 
age. Joseph Greiner was a descendant of Jacob Greiner, who served in the 
French army under Napoleon, was one of the survivors of Napoleon's army, 
that went in to that memorable campaign of the Great Corsican against Russia 
in 181 2. Joseph Greiner, the father of Mrs. Ziegler, participated in the Ameri- 
can Civil war. He served in the Forty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as 
corporal and was honorably discharged at the end of the war. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Ziegler have been born eight children : Cecilia and Ottilia, twins, the former 
the wife of Felix Burger and the latter of Reinhold Ruedebusch; Mathew, 
who died at the age of twelve years ; Lydia, now Mrs. John Brodesser, of Fox 
Lake, Wisconsin ; Marie E., who died at the age of four years ; Adelaide, who 
is twenty-three years of age and took a special course in music at Wayland 
Academy; Louis J., aged nineteen; and Maria, who is fifteen years of age. Mr. 
Ziegler is a firm believer in efficient and practical schooling and has given all 
his children a high-school education. He is a member of the Roman Catholic 
church and is widely known as a man of exemplary character. In his political 
affiliations he is a consistent democrat and served one term as councilman. He 
was fire chief of Mayville for a number of years and has always done his pub- 
lic duty well when called upon. He is a good financier and business man and, 
as the vears have gone by, has gradually built up a successful enterprise, the 
expansion of which is going forward rapidly and is one of the important factors 
in the commercial progress of Beaver Dam. 



Joseph Metzger, Jr., is operating a fine farm of one hundred and thirty 
acres which he rents from his father and in its management has met with a 
degree of success which places him among the prosperous agriculturists of Dodge 
county. He is a native son of Wisconsin, born in Clyman township, August 9, 
18-6. his parents being Joseph and Margaret (Inglehart) Metzger. His father 
was horn in Clyman township and has spent his entire life in this section. Most 



JOSEPH METZGER, Jr. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



195 



of his time has been given to fanning and he has now a fine property. The 
mother of our subject was born in Hubbleton, Wisconsin, and remained in the 
state until her death. After she passed away Joseph Metzger married Miss 
Louise Seitz. 

Joseph Metzger, Jr., was educated in the public schools of his native section 
and when not engaged with his books aided his father with the work of the 
farm. He remained upon the homestead until his marriage in 1904 and rented 
from his father the property which he now operates. The farm contains one 
hundred and thirty acres, all good land, and the buildings upon it are substantial 
and in good repair. Mr. Metzger engages in general farming and conducts a 
fine dairy, keeping a herd of graded cows for this purpose. He is one of the 
able and progressive young farmers of this locality and his ability will undoubtedly 
carry him forward to an important place in agricultural circles. 

On November 1, 1904, Mr. Metzger married Miss Elizabeth Cain, who was 
born in Lowell township, December 15, 1884. She is a daughter of Arthur and 
Elizabeth (Boyle) Cain, the former born April 6, 1849, and the latter December 
2, 1853. Tne father died February 10, 1908, and the mother on December 2, 
1908. Mr. and Mrs. Metzger have three children: Gladys, who was born 
August 11, 1905; Florence, whose birth occurred March 18, 1908; and George, 
born on the 24th of December, 1909. Mr. Metzger gives his allegiance to the 
democratic party and his religious views are in accord with the doctrines of the 
Roman Catholic church. His entire life has been spent within the borders of 
Dodge county and he enjoys the respect and confidence of all with whom busi- 
ness or social relations have brought him into contact. 



LOUIS E. SCHULZE. 

Louis E. Schulze, who is the owner of an up-to-date cafe in Beaver Dam, 
where he is carrying on a successful business, was born in the township of 
Beaver Dam, Dodge county, Wisconsin, November 19, 1864. His parents were 
Frederick A. and Augusta (Dornfeld) Schulze, both natives of Germany, who 
came to Wisconsin in 1843 and settled in Lebanon, Dodge county. They were 
the parents of nine children : Augusta, the widow of Fred Schwefel ; Fred, who 
died in 1908; Louis E. ; Frank, who lives at Dallas, Oregon; Emil, of Beaver 
Dam; William, of Spokane, Washington; Ernest, of Beaver Dam; Olga, the 
wife of William S. Yemple, of Milwaukee; and Minnie, who lives in Milwaukee. 

Louis E. Schulze was reared at home and educated in the public schools of 
his native section. He laid aside his books at the age of seventeen and in the 
following year went westward, locating at Watertown, South Dakota, where he 
remained eighteen years or until 1900, when he came to Beaver Dam. On May 
31, 1902, he bought out the interest of Conrad Daniels in one of the leading 
cafes in Beaver Dam and assumed its management. The establishment is known 
as the Schulzc-Zink Cafe, taking its name from Mr. Schulze's partner, Major 
Philip J. Zink, who is also active and prominent in its management. 

On January 25, 1894, Mr. Schulze was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. 
Schultz, a daughter of William and Wilhelmina (Rubin) Schultz, of Horicon, 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Dodge county, Wisconsin, in whose family were seven children: Henry, a 
resident of Waupun, Wisconsin ; Herman, of Beaver Dam ; Ida M. and Emma, 
twins, the former of whom is the wife of our subject ; Lydia and Edward, also 
twins, the former of whom is Mrs. Meelke, of Waupun, and the latter a resident 
of Beaver Dam ; and Anna, now Mrs. Grebel, of Trenton. Mr. and Mrs. Schulze 
are the parents of three children: Lulu, bom August 5, 1895; Francis, whose 
birth occurred February 4, 1900; and one who died in infancy. 

In his political convictions Mr. Schulze is a democrat and has held the offices 
of alderman in Beaver Dam, and county commissioner in Hamlin county, South 
Dakota. 



FREDERICK DEHNE. 

One of the earliest settlers in Hustisford township and a man who was for 
many years active in the milling business is Frederick Dehne, who is living prac- 
tically retired in Hustisford, giving his attention to the management of a small 
real-estate business. He is one of the many sturdy, reliable and able men whom 
Germany has given to the state of Wisconsin and was born near Berlin, April 
20, 1846. His parents, John M. and Sophia (Mechelke) Dehne, were natives 
of the same section, the father born April 8, 181 1. and the mother about the 
same year. John M. Dehne farmed in his native country for some time and 
after his marriage became overseer of a large property. In 1856 he crossed the 
Atlantic to America and came immediately to Wisconsin, where he settled one 
and a half miles east of the village of Hustisford, on a farm. He found here 
a tract of unbroken land and gave his entire attention to its clearing and develop- 
ment. Gradually he developed a profitable agricultural enterprise.. Later he 
extended his interests to include flour milling, in which he was interested for 
some time. However, he never gave his personal attention to this work, giving 
over the operation of his concern to his son, the subject of this review. About 
1876 he sold his farm to another son and moved into the village, where he lived 
retired until his death in 1897. He had survived his wife for ten years. They 
were the parents of five children: Minnie, the widow of Christ Rohr, residing 
in Hustisford; August and Louisa, both deceased; Frederick, of this review ; and 
William, who resides in Milwaukee. 

In the acquirement of an education Frederick Dehne attended the public 
schools in Germany and later district school in Hustisford township. He re- 
mained upon his father's farm until he was over twenty-one years of age and 
then became connected with the milling business in Hustisford. He became promi- 
nent and successful in this line of work and did not abandon his connection with 
it until 1902. During this time he erected also a mill- at Juneau, which was 
completed in 1878. Immediately afterward, however, the new roller system 
came into general use and Mr. Dehne. not caring to install new machinery, sold 
his mill in Juneau and returned to Hustisford. For some time he sold lumber 
to the Roul Company of Beaver Dam, hauling it sometimes by team and some- 
times shipping it by rail. Afterward, however, he abandoned this line of occu- 
pation and gave his entire time to the operation of his flour mill, a sawmill and 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



197 



a box factory in Hustisford. In 1902 he rented all of his milling property to 
his two eldest sons and after eight years sold it to them. Since that time he 
has been living practically retired, although he engages to some extent in the 
real-estate business. 

On the 5th of October, 1872, Mr. Dehne married Miss Minnie Rex. who was 
born in Hubbard township, April 10, 1856. Her parents, Martin and Sophia 
(Klemer) Rex, natives of Germany, came to America about the year 1855 and 
located in Hubbard township, five miles north of Hustisford. Here they bought 
a farm, upon which they continued to reside until their deaths. The father 
passed away in 1877 and the mother in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Dehne became the 
parents of fourteen children: Louisa, the wife of Frank Herman, who is en- 
gaged in farming in Idaho; Lydia, who is engaged in the millinery business at 
West Bend; three who died in infancy; Emil, who was engaged in the electric 
light business with his brother and passed away in 191 1 ; Oscar, who is operating 
the electric light plant in Hustisford ; Alexander, a carpenter and property owner 
in Waupun; Linda and Felix, both residing with their father; Frederick F., 
who will graduate from Marquette College with the class of 1913; Erna, who is 
employed as a stenographer in West Bend; Ludelle, a teacher in the district 
schools of this township ; and Willard, in the senior class of the high school at 
Waupun. Mrs. Dehne died November 17, 191 i. Mr. Dehne is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church of Hustisford although he was confirmed in 
the Lutheran religion. He gives a general allegiance to the democratic party 
but on all doubtful questions votes according to his personal conviction. He 
served on the town board for a short time and for many years was a member of 
the school board. He was also a trustee of the Lutheran church for a number 
of years. Beyond this he has never held public office, preferring to devote his 
entire time to his business affairs. In his early years he was an active member 
of the Temple of Honor but at the present time has no fraternal affiliations. He 
has lived for fifty-six years in Hustisford township and can remember the 
time when there were only three or four houses in the town, when there were 
no streets laid out and when stock ran unmolested through the village. He has 
seen the section grow and develop along all lines and has been one of the most 
active factors in the expansion, so that his retirement comes as a well earned 
reward of useful and worthy work. 



THOMAS P. PERKINS. 

Among the men who in former years have been closely identified with busi- 
ness and agricultural interests of Hustisford township and with the general en- 
terprises which most vitally effect the advancement of the section is Thomas 
P. Perkins, now living retired in the village of Hustisford. He was born in 
the county of Cornwall, England, May 2, 1847, and is a son of John and Jane 
(Prust) Perkins, both natives of Cornwall, England, the father born February 
15, 1815, and the mother in June, 1820. In England the father followed the 
trade of a maltster and brewer and did work as a blacksmith and wagon-maker be- 
sides engaging in general farming. When he came to America in 1864 he settled 



198 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



immediately in Hustisford, where he bought a blacksmith shop, which he con- 
tinued to conduct for a number of years. Eventually, however, he turned over 
the management of the enterprise to his son John and after spending a short 
time in retirement in the village went with Thomas P. Perkins of this review 
into Iowa, and remained five years. He died in the town of Hustisford, in 
November, 1894. His wife had passed away several years previously, her 
death having occurred in 1883. They were the parents of five children, of 
whom Thomas P. Perkins is the only one now living. 

In the acquirement of an education Mr. Perkins of this review attended 
public school in England and later an academy in Exeter, Devonshire. When he 
was seventeen years of age he came with his parents to America and for some 
time worked as a farm hand in Du Page county, Illinois. After one year, how- 
ever, he joined his father in Wisconsin and was employed by a farmer in 
Lebanon township for two years. Later he worked for George Baker in Hustis- 
ford township, spending the summers in this way and attending school in the 
winter. After laying aside his books he went to Milwaukee, where he worked 
as a collector for a few months, and then returned to Lebanon township, where 
he farmed for his father-in-law for two summers. In the spring of 1871 he 
purchased land in Wright county, Iowa, and continued to develop this prop- 
erty for six years, after which he sold it at a profit and returned to Hustisford 
township. Here he rented a farm from his father-in-law and moved upon it in 
the spring of 1877. From that time until 1001 he steadily carried forward 
the work of development and improvement, buying the farm in the meantime 
and becoming widely recognized as an able and progressive agriculturist. In 
1 901 he rented out his property and in the same year bought a home in Hustis- 
ford, where he has since Uved retired. In the following year he sold his farm 
but is still the owner of extensive tracts of land in various parts of Wisconsin. 
From 1878 until the time he abandoned active life he was president of the Burr 
Oak Cheese Factory and took an active part in the development of the enter- 
prise. 

On the 20th of April, 1871, Mr. Perkins married Miss Rachael R. Baker, who 
was born in Cornwall, England, April 8, 1845. She is a daughter of Thomas 
and Eliza (Baker) Baker, both natives of the same section, the father born 
December 15, 1817, and the mother in 1815. They came to America in 1852 
and located first in Canada, whence after one year they went to Chicago and 
later to Walworth county, Wisconsin. Eventually, however, the father bought 
a farm in Lebanon township, Dodge county, and continued to operate this until 
his death, August 18, 1890. They were the parents of five children: Mary, now 
Mrs. Edington, who resides in Augusta. Eau Claire county, Wisconsin ; Ann, 
the wife of S. R. Jones, of Juneau ; Eliza, who became the wife of S. B. Jones, 
of Hustisford township ■ Mrs. Perkins ; and Thomas W., who is engaged in the 
liquor business in Hustisford. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins became the parents of 
seven children : John, who was born June 22. 1872 and died October 8, 1884: 
Elizabeth J., born May 3, 1873, who became the wife of Gustav Seefeldt, a 
farmer of this township; Arthur, who was born on the 15th of January. 1878, 
and died when about fourteen months of age; Thomas Baker, who was born 
July 8, 1884, and who died in infancy; William H. t born June 23, 1891, who 
resides with his parents; and two, who died in infancy. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



199 



The family are devout adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
Mr. Perkins is serving as superintendent of the Sunday school. He gives his 
allegiance to the republican party but never allows his personal convictions to 
be influenced by party standards. In the course of years he has figured prom- 
inently in the public life of his district and is at present justice of the peace 
and notary public. In 1902 he was a candidate for the legislature but his 
most important public work has been along lines of school expansion. For 
eighteen years he was treasurer of his school district and during that time 
did a great deal to improve the quality of instruction given to the children of 
Hustisford by paying good salaries in order to secure competent teachers. Al- 
though Mr. Perkins has given up active work, his interests are still closely 
identified with the development of the section in which he has lived so many 
years. In his retirement he can look back on an active life, connected always 
with lasting, useful and honorable things, and can rest in the consciousness of 
worthy work well done. 



J. ELLIOT McCLURE. 

J. Elliot McClure is one of the leading figures in banking circles of Beaver 
Dam and is representative of the most modern, systematic and progressive 
methods of operation in present-day financial institutions. He is a fine type of 
efficient, reliable and trustworthy official, having a knowledge of the methods 
of modern business finance and the ability to make a practical application of it 
He has been identified with the First National Bank since its organization in 
1 881 and has served first as assistant cashier and then as cashier of the institu- 
tion, retaining his connection through various changes and reorganizations. He 
was born in Chelsea, Vermont, on June 23, 1854, and is a son of Dr. Joseph F. 
and Eunice (Denison) McClure, who came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1855, 
settling in Beaver Dam. Here the father engaged in the general practice of 
medicine for thirty-seven years, gaining prominence in this field of activity. 
He died in 1892 in the sixty-eighth year of his age and his wife passed away 
in the same year. Both are buried in Oakwood cemetery. 

J. Elliot • McClure is the second in a family of six children. He received 
his education in the. public schools of Beaver Dam where he has lived since he 
was one year old and completed his studies in Wayland Academy. For one 
winter he taught district school and followed the same line of occupation in the 
city schools for one term. He then entered the office of the Beaver Dam Woolen 
Mills as bookkeeper, holding this position for seven years. His banking career 
began in 1881, when he became associated with the National Bank of Beaver 
Dam. In 1884 this institution was reorganized under the name of the First 
National Bank and for four years Mr. McClure served as assistant cashier. He 
was later promoted to the position of cashier, which he has now filled for sixteen 
years, doing able and effective work. In 1904, the institution was again reorgan- 
ized under the name of the Old National Bank with Mr. McClure in his former 
position, which he has occupied ever since that time. 

In 1878 Mr. McClure was united in marriage to Miss Charra M. Daniels, a 



200 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



daughter of the late Charles W. Daniels of Beaver Dam. Mrs. McClure was 
born March 24, 1855, and is the youngest in a family of five children. Mr. and 
Mrs. McClure have two sons : Joseph C, who is married and living in Omaha, 
Nebraska, where he holds the position of assistant cashier in the United States 
National Bank ; and Donald E., who is a teller in the Old National Bank of 
Beaver Dam. 

In his political affiliations Mr. McClure is a consistent democrat and takes 
an active interest in local affairs. He served for six years as a member of the 
common council and one year as superintendent of schools. He is interested in 
education and was for four years clerk of the school board. He is a prominent 
Mason, holding membership in the lodge, chapter, council and commandery and 
is a charter member of the Royal Arcanum. His wife belongs to the Order of 
the Eastern Star and is well known in social circles of Beaver Dam. She is 
prominent in the Woman's Gub of that city and does active work in various 
church societies. Mr. McClure is a stockholder in the Masonic Temple Corpora- 
tion and has an interest in valuable business property in Beaver Dam. He gives 
most of his attention, however, to the conduct of his duties as cashier of one 
of the leading banks in the city. He is careful and conservative in financial mat- 
ters, able, shrewd, and keen, thoroughly honest, reliable and trustworthy, well 
versed in various departments of modern banking, careful but always progres- 
sive — a fine type of a modern banker. In the conduct of the duties of his office 
he exemplifies to a great extent the value of systematic and honest business prin- 
ciples and has gained prosperity by adhering to them. 



Edgar E. Parker is filling the position of assistant postmaster in Beaver 
Dam, his native city. He was born August 13, 1862, of the marriage of William 
L. and Emeline E. (Swift) Parker, both of whom were natives of New York. 
They removed with their respective families to Ohio and in the latter state were 
married. In 1*845 ,ne y came to Dodge county, which was then a frontier dis- 
trict, and William L. Parker purchased eighty acres of government land in 
Trenton township, becoming a pioneer settler of that district. They lived in true 
frontier style. Before they could secure a door for their house, which was built 
of logs, they hung a blanket over the aperture. The furnishings were most primi- 
tive but the little cabin sheltered a large family and the years with their changed 
conditions brought to them a fair measure of success. In the early days of their 
residence here the Indians were very numerous, for they still used the forests 
of the vicinity as their hunting grounds. Mr. Parker had to go to Milwaukee 
for supplies and the trip was a long and arduous one because of the lack of good 
roads. He was a blacksmith by trade and conducted one of the first shops of 
Dodge county, but eventually he abandoned his trade and in 1859 removed to 
Beaver Dam where he opened a livery barn and engaged in buying and selling 
horses, becoming one of the first horse dealers in this part of the state. As the 
years passed he came more and more into prominence through his political as 
well as business activity. In politics he was an earnest democrat and in 1862 



EDGAR E. PARKER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



203 



and 1863 served as sheriff of Dodge county. He also held a number of city 
offices, including that of alderman and member of the school board. When 
Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency Mr. Parker changed his political 
views and was afterward a republican. In 1862 he purchased a farm just east 
of the city and bred registered Merino sheep. For several years he was president 
of the Wisconsin Wool Growers Association and at all times did what he could 
to further the interests of the business. His fraternal relations were with the 
Masonic lodge at Beaver Dam and in early life he was a member of the Meth- 
odist church. He died in May, 1887, while his wife, who was a member of 
the Universalist church, survived him until the 14th of February, 1905. In 
their family were nine children of whom the first two died in infancy ; the third, 
Addison M., has also passed away. The others are: William E., who is now 
living retired in Beaver Dam ; C. S., who is a farmer of Guthrie Center, Iowa ; 
Mrs. Charles Owen, also living in Guthrie Center, Iowa; Mrs. Thomas Taylor, 
who died at Jasper, Minnesota ; Theodore, who died at the age of nine months ; 
and Edgar E. 

The last named is indebted to the public schools of Beaver Dam for the 
educational opportunities which he enjoyed. As a young man he engaged in 
the lightning rod business and in 1884 he entered the office of The Citizen, a 
newspaper of Beaver Dam, there learning the printer's trade. In that connection 
he gradually worked his way upward, eventually becoming editor and manager. 
In February, 1910, he purchased The Citizen and in February of the following 
year began the publication of a daily paper, the only one of the county. His 
newspaper interests have made him widely known and in all of his jouralistic 
connections he has manifested a spirit of marked progress and enterprise. On 
the 1st of January, 1909, he was appointed assistant postmaster of Beaver 
Dam under Mr. Hughes and has since been continuously connected with the 
postoffice. 

On the 3d of November, 1886, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Parker 
and Miss Genevieve McGlashan, of this city, a daughter of R. E. and Emily 
(Hall) McGlashan. The father came to Dodge county in 1843, being one of 
the first to venture into this wilderness and plant the seeds of civilization here 
on hitherto uncultivated soil. The mother was a daughter of M. B. Hall, also 
one of the pioneer residents of Dodge county and one of the first county super- 
intendents of the poor. Mr. McGlashan was a farmer by occupation and on his 
arrival in the west secured government land. He then performed the arduous 
task of converting it into rich fields, but at length his labors were rewarded in 
abundant crops. He became quite successful as the years passed by and also 
went steadily to the front in connection with public affairs, filling a number of 
city offices. Throughout his life he displayed many of the sterling characteristics 
of his Scotch ancestry. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Parker have been born two children : 
Harry H., who is now managing editor of The Citizen; and Ruth E., who is 
instructor in domestic science in the Beaver Dam High School. The family arc 
very. widely and favorably known in this part of the state and their own home 
has ever been justly celebrated for its warm-hearted hospitality. Mr. Parker is 
a member of Dodge County Lodge, No. 72, F. & A. M. r and in his political 
views is a republican. He has served as a member of the council and of the 

board of supervisors and his position upon any vital question is never an equivo- 
Vol n- 1 2 



204 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cal one. He stands firmly in support of whatever he believes to be for the best 
interests of the community and nothing can swerve him from the course which 
he regards as right and just. In the newspaper field and in politics he has made 
for himself a creditable name and position, yet there has been nothing spectacular 
in his career, his course having been marked merely by that persistent energy 
and developing ability which eventually bring success. 



Samuel A. Holdridge is a well known representative of industrial and com- 
mercial activity in Dodge county, being at the head of the S. A. Holdridge & 
Sons Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, having their factory, however, at 
Clyman, where they are engaged in the manufacture of chisels of every descrip- 
tion. Their business is large and is constantly growing, the excellence of their 
output insuring a continuance of their patronage. 

Mr. Holdridge was born at Clayton, New York, October 2, 1845, a son of 
Samuel A. and Elizabeth (Sager) Holdridge, both of whom were natives of 
England. They came to America, however, in early life, settling at Clayton, 
New York, where the father engaged in the real estate business until his death, 
which occurred in 1845, three months before the birth of his son Samuel. The 
mother continued to reside in Clayton for a number of years and then removed 
to Warren, Pennsylvania. 

Samuel A. Holdridge is the youngest of a family of five children. He was 
largely reared in Wisconsin and attended school in Lodi and also to some extent 
in Kansas. In early life he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed 
at Kilbourn, Prairie du Chien and other points in Wisconsin. He also worked 
for three years in Pennsylvania and for two years in Columbus, Ohio. In 1869 
he established a blacksmith shop in Lodi, where he remained until September 
25, 1905, when he removed to Watertown but continued there for only a brief 
period. He next came to Clyman and established his present business, carrying 
on general blacksmithing and the manufacture of bush chisels. He organized 
the S. A. Holdridge & Sons Company, which has offices in Milwaukee, while 
the factory is located at Clyman. They manufacture every kind of chisel for 
pneumatic hammers, using only the best tool steel on the American market in 
the manufacture of chisels for stone, granite and marble work. Every tool fur- 
nished by the firm is guaranteed to be perfect in temper and mechanical work- 
manship and without flaws or defects in the steel. In addition to chisels they 
manufacture more than a dozen kinds of hammers and various other kinds of 
tools. These are put upon the market under the brand of "H. & H." and the 
sale is constantly growing, for their output recommends itself to the public by 
its excellence and durability. Mr. Holdridge is a man of marked business ability 
and enterprise and whatever success has come to him is the reward of his earn- 
est, persistent efforts. 

On the 15th of March, 1870, Mr. Holdridge was united in marriage to Miss 
Almira Woodley, who was born at Okec, Wisconsin, August 22. 1852, a daugh- 
ter of John and Mary S. (Rodgers) Woodley, the former a native of Germany 



SAMUEL A. HOLDRIDGE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



205 



and the latter of England. The father always followed the occupation of farm- 
ing, and on coming to Wisconsin in 1844 settled at Okee, where he secured a 
tract of land and carried on general agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
occurred in March, 1859. His wife survived him for a number of years, passing 
away in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Holdridge became the parents of seven children: 
Harley A., a blacksmith and farmer residing at Firesteel, South Dakota ; Clarence 
A., of Milwaukee, who is a traveling salesman for high speed steel ; May, the wife 
of Robert Wilson, a farmer of Arlington, Wisconsin ; Ray S., who resides with 
his parents; and Maud S., Louise and Claude, all deceased. 

There is in the life history of Mr. Holdridge an interesting military chapter, 
for in September, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of 
Company G, Twenty-third Wisconsin Regiment, with which he continued for 
a year. Mr. Holdridge votes with the republican party and at Lodi served as 
marshal, while at the present time he is filling the office of justice of the peace 
at Clyman. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and his life 
is an honorable, upright one in harmony with his professions. He has ever 
been industrious, diligent and determined and his life record is another proof 
of the fact that success and an honorable name may be won simultaneously. 



FREDERICK HERMAN VERG. 

Frederick Herman Verg, numbered among the successful and enterprising 
agriculturists of Clyman township, owns and operates a well improved farm of 
forty acres and owns fifteen acres of marsh land. His birth occurred in Pom- 
mern, Germany, on the 18th of April, 1850, his parents being August and Wil- 
helmina (Schmidt) Verg, who were likewise natives of that country. The 
father, a laborer, passed away in Germany. The mother, who emigrated to the 
United States about 1883, made her home with our subject throughout the re- 
mainder of her life, passing away in 1885. 

Frederick Herman Verg obtained his education in the schools of his native 
land and when a young man of twenty- four years became a driver of a post 
or mail wagon, being thus employed for about seven years. In 1882, having 
determined to try his fortune in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the 
United States and came direct to Watertown, Dodge county, Wisconsin. Here 
he worked in a brickyard during one summer and subsequently spent fifteen or 
sixteen years in the railroad shops. Turning his attention to general agricul- 
tural pursuits, he rented a farm of forty acres in Gyman township and in 1910 
purchased the property, which has since remained in his possession. He has 
improved the place until it is a modern and model farm and in its operation he 
has won a gratifying measure of prosperity, annually gathering good crops. 
He also owns fifteen acres of marsh land. 

On the 12th of October, 1873, Mr Verg was united in marriage to Miss 
Carolina Reeck, who was born in the province of Pommern, Germany, on the 
16th of March, 1849, ner parents being Gottlieb and Christina (Kraft) Reeck, 
also natives of that province. They spent their entire lives in the fatherland 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Verg have been born nine children, as follows: Emil, de 



206 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ceased; August, an agriculturist residing at. Split Rock, Wisconsin; Bertha, who 
is the wife of Charles Bischoff, a farmer of Clyman township; John, who follows 
farming near Watertown; Herman and Otto, both of whom are laborers and 
reside in Watertown ; Frank and Hattie, who are still at home ; and Edwin, who 
has passed away. 

Mr. Verg gives his political allegiance to the democracy but has never sought 
nor desired office as a reward for his party fealty. His religious faith is indi- 
cated by his membership in the Emanuel Lutheran church at Watertown. He 
has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the United States, 
for here he has found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization 
has gained a place among the substantial and esteemed citizens of his com- 
munity. 



There was no more highly respected and deservedly successful man in Beaver 
Dam than Albert Clough, who died at his home, No. 312 East Maple avenue, 
June 4, 1912. He had been a resident of this section since his childhood and 
for almost forty years was recognized as an able, enterprising and progressive 
agriculturist, who by hard work and well directed labor had highly developed 
his. farm, and whose upright and straightforward character had gained himmany 
friends. The last twenty years of his life were spent in Beaver Dam, where he 
engaged in various business enterprises and where his death brought to a close 
a useful career. He was born in Canaan, Vermont, November 24, 1840, a son of 
Obadiah and Dorothy (Morrison) Clough, natives of that state. They came 
to Wisconsin at an early date and settled in Rolling Prairie, where they lived 
during the remainder of their lives. Both are buried in Highland cemetery. 

Albert Clough was the third in a family of eleven children and was but a 
child when he came to Wisconsin. He was educated in the district schools of 
Dodge county and remained upon his father's farm until he was twenty-six 
years of age. At that time he purchased a tract of land in Burnett township 
and after cultivating it for a number of years bought eighteen acres on Rolling 
Prairie, upon which he resided until the spring of 1892, when he sold the farm 
and came to Beaver Dam. He sold his land in Burnett township in the spring 
of the following year and definitely abandoned agricultural pursuits. For some 
time after locating in this city he dealt in sand, getting his supply from Burnett 
township. In 1895, however, his health failed and he lived in retirement until 
his death, which occurred on June 4, 1912, when he was seventy-two years of 
age. He was buried in Oakwood cemetery. 

On the 8th of September, 1866, Mr. Clough was united in marriage to Miss 
Lucinda Stoddard, who was born August 16, 1847, in Prairie du Sac, a daughter 
of Asa and Philenda (Frizzle) Stoddard, natives of New Hampshire, who came 
west and settled in Prairie du Sac at an early date. Mr. and Mrs. Clough adopted 
a son, Walter. He married Miss Dora Gilmore and resides with his wife and 
son in Milledgeville, Illinois. 



ALBERT CLOUGH. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



207 



Mr. Clough gave his allegiance to the republican party. He was a devout 
Methodist and an attendant of the First Methodist church of Beaver Dam and 
was a member and trustee of the church board. His wife is still an active sup- 
porter of this religion and is a member of the Ladies Aid and Foreign Mission- 
ary Societies. Mr. Clough was actively interested in the growth and develop- 
ment of Beaver Dam, in an industrial and social way, and did his utmost to pro- 
mote its progress. His success is evidenced by the importance of the place which 
he attained among his fellow citizens and the genuine and widespread regret 
which attended his death. 



JOHN JOSEPH SCHUMACHER. 

John Joseph Schumacher has been engaged in the shoemaking business in 
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, since 1885 and during the time has met with well de- 
served success, which is the natural result of his industry and ability. He is 
in all essential respects a self-made man and to a great degree responsible for 
his present prosperity. He started in the enterprise which he now conducts with 
a capital of thirty-five cents in money and twenty dollars worth of leather, but 
with an efficient equipment in the knowledge of his trade and in the qualities 
of perseverance and industry. He was born on December 29, 1862, in Juneau, 
Wisconsin, and is a son of Peter and Margaret (Oakum) Schumacher. His 
father came to Wisconsin and settled in Fond du Lac in 1851 and was one of 
the first men to engage in the occupation of shoemaking in that city. He opened 
a small shop and built up a flourishing trade by hard work and continuous labor. 
He moved to Juneau in 1856 and followed his chosen occupation in that city 
until he went to Fox Lake in 1864 where he continued shoemaking until his 
death. He was one of the well known and prosperous citizens of this city and one 
of its prosperous tradesmen. He was consistently democratic in his political 
affiliations and was a loyal supporter of General Bragg. He gave his allegiance 
to the Roman Catholic church. Peter Schumacher was twice married. His 
first wife was Miss Margaret Oakum and to this union were born nine chil- 
dren : Liza ; Nick ; John, of this review ; Belle ; Mary ; Eva ; Agnes ; Margaret ; and 
John P. Peter Schumacher's second union was with Miss Annie Golling, by 
whom he had three children, Mary, George and Henry. 

John Schumacher was reared at home and educated until his twelfth year 
in the public schools of Fox Lake. He learned the shoemaking trade from his 
father and the equipment which he received was thorough and efficient. He 
followed this line of occupation at home until he was twenty-one years of age, 
gaining a practical working knowledge of its details and building up an ex- 
tensive patronage. He later removed to Beaver Dam and then to Minneapolis 
and other places, subsequently, however, definitely taking up his residence in 
Beaver Dam and in 1885 started in the shoemaking business independently. 
His venture was begun upon a very small scale. His capital consisted of twenty 
dollars worth of leather, a few tools and thirty-five cents in money. He had, 
however, a fund of ambition and determination combined with an efficient 
knowledge of the details of his trade and upon this foundation he built his 



208 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



prosperity. lie abandoned his independent business eventually to become con- 
nected with the concern known as Wilk Brothers after which he spent a short 
time in the clothing business. He later formed a partnership and was successful 
in the conduct of an enterprise operating under the name of Rice & Schumacher, 
which he subsequently sold in order to start in the shoe business on Spring 
street, Beaver Dam, where he is now conducting an extensive and rapidly 
growing enterprise. His success is based on the solid foundation of thorough 
efficiency and practical knowledge. He learned the details of his trade in his 
early boyhood and became conversant with its intricacies by personal experi- 
ence. He is now regarded as one of the leading shoemakers in Beaver Dam 
where his business qualifications and honorable standing are well known. 

Mr. Schumacher has been twice married. His first union was with Miss 
Eudora Clark, a daughter of John C. and Ida (Stephenson) Clark. She was 
one of four children born to her parents, the others being Minnie, Alice, and 
Frank. To this union were born four children : Earl, a well known violinist in 
Beaver Dam, where he has gained a remarkable musical reputation at eighteen 
years of age ; Margaret, a student in the high school at Beaver Dam ; Evelyn, who 
is pursuing her studies in the public schools ; and Gladys, who is deceased. Mr. 
Schumacher's second wife was in her maidenhood Miss Emma Steltzer. She 
was one of five children, the others being: John, William, Robert, and Lena. 
To this union was born one child, Virginia li , now living in Beaver Dam. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Schumacher is a stanch republican and has 
been loyal in his allegiance to the principles of this party for twenty years. He 
is serving at the present time as school commissioner and is doing efficient and 
practical work. Fraternally he is identified as past grand with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and is affiliated with the Beavers. He is secretary in 
the Equitable Fraternal Union and was formerly secretary of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, also holding membership in the Royal Neighbors. In 1896 
he belonged to the Wisconsin National Guard but has since resigned from his 
regiment. 

Mr. Schumacher is one of the leading men in his line of occupation in 
Beaver Dam and though his life has been quiet and his career unassuming he has 
attained success in a degree which illustrates the power of detail and industry 
in the search for prosperity. 



ALBERT AUGUST J EC HE. 

Seventy-nine acres of well improved land located near Juneau in Dodge 
county, entitle Albert August Jeche to be ranked among the enterprising and 
representative citizens of his section. He was born in Hustisford township, 
June 12, 1872, a son of William and Louisa (Wegener) Jeche, natives of Ger- 
many, the father being born June 22, 1834, and the mother, August 14, 1842. 
William Jeche crossed the Atlantic when he was a young man and located first 
in Lebanon township. Dodge county, where he resided with his parents upon a 
farm. He later became the proprietor of a tract of land in Hustisford township 
and he resided thereon until his death, which occurred September 6, 1904. His 



Digitized by Google 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



209 



wife died at Richwood two years later. The father of our subject was well 
known in local politics and served in various official capacities. He was chairman 
of his township for twenty-five years and served for two terms in the state legis- 
lature. For several years he was collector for the Oshkosh Insane Asylum, 
located in Hustisford township, and was also a member of the local school board. 

Albert A. Jeche received his education in the public and German schools 
of Hubbard township and remained at home until he married. Afterward he 
rented land in Hustisford township and after four years purchased the property 
upon which he resides. In all business and agricultural affairs he is alert and 
enterprising and has met with the measure of success which rewards earnest, 
persistent and well directed labor. . 

On November 14, 1901, Mr. Jeche was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
Henkel, who was born in Hustisford township, July 21, 1881, a daughter of 
William and Louisa (Zuhner) Henkel, natives of Germany, who were among 
the very early settlers in that section. They are living retired in the village of 
Hustisford. Mr. and Mrs. Jeche have two children : Raymond, who was born 
December 3, 1902; and Willard, whose birth occurred April 18, 1904. The 
family belong to the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Jeche is independent in his political views and never seeks public office, 
preferring to give his entire attention to the management of his farm. His 
influence is important in the agricultural community in which he lives, for his 
methods have always been progressive and systematic, and his standards high. 



FRANCIS J. METZGER, D. D. S. 

Dr. Francis J. Metzger, well known in the dental profession of Beaver Dam, 
was born in Lowell township, Wisconsin, September 20, 1878. His paternal 
grandfather founded the family in America, coming to Wisconsin in early pio- 
neer times. He was a successful agriculturist. In politics he was identified with 
the democratic party and was a member of the Catholic church. Dr. Metzger 
is a son of John and Anna (Meyers) Metzger. His father was a farmer and 
was prosperous and successful in this line of activity. He and his wife were 
the parents of six children: Francis J., the subject of this sketch; Raymond F., 
who is farming near Lowell, Wisconsin; Marcellus E., who maintains his resi- 
dence in Seattle, Washington; Agnes M., who resides in Clyman, Wisconsin, 
with her mother; John, who lives in Milwaukee; and Gilbert, a resident of 
Lowell. 

Dr. Metzger received his education in the public schools of Wisconsin, 
attending district school No. 7, in Lowell township. He later took a course in 
Sacred Heart College of Watertown, Wisconsin, and was graduated from the 
dental department of Marquette University, Milwaukee, in 1902. In April, 
1907, he located in Beaver Dam for practice and from the very beginning his 
success has been gratifying. His skill is widely recognized and he commands 
the respect and esteem of his patients, fellow citizens and members of the dental 
fraternity. He is an expert in oral surgery, having taken special courses in this 
branch of medicine while pursuing his studies in the Marquette University. 



210 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On October 7, 1903, Dr. Mctzger was united in marriage to Miss Viola I. 
Casey, a daughter of James D. Casey of Watertown, Wisconsin. Mrs. Metzger 
is one of nine children, the others being: Irvin T., who lives in Missoula, Mon- 
tana; Loretta M., the wife of Dr. G. I. Wenker, of Milwaukee; Oliver J., of 
Watertown; Euphemia, deceased; Eveline; Estelle; Simon; and Cyrus. 

Dr. Metzger is not affiliated with any of the political parties and follows the 
dictates of his conscience and judgment in supporting measures and candidates 
he considers worthy of success. He belongs to the Wisonsin State Dental So- 
ciety and is also a member of the alumni of Marquette University. He affili- 
ates with the Roman Catholic church and is connected with the Knights of 
Columbus and the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He has gained success and 
prosperity in his chosen career. He is efficient, progressive and of liberal mind, 
which are the qualities upon which rests his success. 



Peter Pfeffer is a leading figure in the clothing business of Beaver Dam 
where he owns and operates a large store, meeting with gratifying success be- 
cause of his honorable business methods, his earnest desire to please his patrons 
and his close application to business. He was born on June 19, 1864, in the 
Rhine Province, Germany, and is a son of Conrad Pfeffer. His father served 
in the German army during the war of the revolution and served his term with 
great distinction. Peter Pfeffer was one of six children, the others being Adam, 
Carl, Elizabeth, Minna and Anna,' all of whom are residing in Germany. 

Peter Pfeffer was educated in his native country and remained there until 
he was eighteen years of age. Upon reaching America he located immediately 
in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He worked upon a farm belonging to John Rose 
for a short time before he entered the employ of A. P. Lawrence. He remained 
in this position until the owner of the business disposed of his holdings and then 
Mr. Pfeffer accepted a position under his successor. He remained with the firm 
of Shepherd & Brown until the summer of 1886, when he removed to Chicago 
to become identified with the dry-goods business with the firm of Storm & Hill. 
The partners sold out in 1891 and Mr. Pfeffer changed his position, accepting 
employment with the J. V. Farwell Company. He continued in this position 
until December 1, 1895, and his duties gave him a practical and detailed knowl- 
edge of the methods of commercial enterprise on a large scale which today 
is a valuable asset to him in the conduct of his own flourishing establishment. 
He came to Beaver Dam on the 1st of December, 1895, an d entered into part- 
nership with Mr. Zander in the operation of a general merchandise store under 
the firm name of Zander & Pfeffer. This association continued until January 
1, 191 1, when Peter Pfeffer withdrew from the firm and started in business inde- 
pendently. He opened his present establishment on March 18, 191 1, in the 
Masonic Temple. He carries the most complete and up-to-date line of clothing 
in the city and in its operation and general business methods compares favor- 
ably .with establishments of the same kind in cities the size of Chicago. His 
stock is kept constantly up-to-date and complete. The equipment of the build- 



PETER PFEFFER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



211 



ing is modern in every detail and the store itself is furnished along artistic lines. 
Much of this success is due to the alert and enterprising methods which have 
distinguished Mr. Pfeffer's business policies, and his gratifying patronage which 
has been built up by industry and activity is increasing discernibly. Mr. Pfeffer 
gives almost his entire time and attention to the various details connected with 
his clothing store and does not take a very active part in other commercial 
affairs. He is however, a director in the Woolen Manufacturing Company and 
has been an influential factor in the growth of that concern. On October 24, 
1895, Mr. Pfeffer was united in marriage to Miss Olga Zander, and they are 
the parents of two children: J. Eugene, born August 30, 1896, who is attending 
Beaver Dam high school ; and Agnes, born on the 30th of August, 1897, who is 
also pursuing her studies in that same institution. 

In his political views Mr. Pfeffer keeps himself independent of party lines. 
He is an active factor in local affairs and served one term as a member of the 
city council. He is a blue lodge Mason and also belongs to the chapter. He is 
a member of Beaver Dam Commandery No. 37, Knights Templar. He is also 
prominent in the Wisconsin consistory and is a member of Tripoli Temple, 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a man of undoubted probity of character 
and this qualification has influenced and increased the volume of his business, 
his establishment having the aspect of a modern metropolitan enterprise and 
being one of the features in the growth of Beaver Dam. 



ELGIN T. COCHRANE. 

Elgin T. Cochrane was born in Marquette county, Wisconsin, July 25, 1857. 
His parents were H. B. and Mary E. (Boothe) Cochrane who came to this state 
at an early date. The grandfather of our subject, Robert Cochrane, lived in 
Westfield, New York, and made his home in that city during his life. H. B. 
Cochrane located in Wisconsin in 1844 and farmed near Waupun until 1850. 
In that year he removed to Westfield, where he engaged in the milling, fanning 
and sawmill business until 1866. He then moved upon a farm located between 
Beaver Dam and Waupun and was successfully engaged in agriculture until his 
death in 1893. He and his wife were the parents of seven children: Leslie B., 
who died in infancy; Emerson, who also passed away at an early age; Leslie 
E., who lives on Deer Lake, South Dakota; Elgin T., the subject of this review; 
Merle R. ; Jessie M., who resides in Beaver Dam; and Ella D., who passed away 
when she was twenty years of age. 

Elgin T. Cochrane received his early education in the public schools of 
3eaver Dam and later attended Wayland Academy. He laid aside his books 
at the age of nineteen years and taught a district school for two terms. He 
later engaged in the jewelry business in Waupun. He eventually removed to 
Jackson, Minnesota, where he established himself in business, coming two years 
later to Fox Lake, Wisconsin. He conducted a jewelry store there for three 
years and later removed to Manning, Iowa, and thence to Sheldon, that state. 
He abandoned this line of business after a time, in order to devote himself to 
agriculture and was successful and prosperous in this line of work. Upon his 



212 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



father's death he came to Beaver Dam, in 1894, and has since made his home 
in this city. During the period of his residence here he has gained a reputa- 
tion for public-spirited interest in all movements looking toward municipal 
progress and advancement and is favorably known as a man who unites in his 
character business principles of a high order with rare qualities of citizenship. 
In politics he is progressive but is not affiliated with any political organization. 



HENRY FREBER. 

Among those who have passed away and who in life enjoyed the full re- 
spect and good-will of those who knew them was Henry Freber, long identified 
with farming interests in this county. He was born in Massachusetts, Decem- 
ber 20, 1839, a son of Charles and Margaret (Frank) Freber, who were na- 
tives of Germany but in early life came to the United States, settling in Massa- 
chusetts, where they remained until after the birth of their son Henry. About 
1848 they came west to Dodge county, taking up their abode in Clyman town- 
ship at a period when there were no railroads in this district and when all pro- 
duce was marketed in Milwaukee, where supplies were purchased. Charles 
Freber secured a tract of uncultivated land, and with characteristic energy be- 
gan its development and converted it into a valuable farm. He and his wife 
continued to reside throughout the remaining days on the old homestead, which 
adjoins the farm now occupied by Mrs. Henry Freber. The father never cared 
for public office but devoted his entire time and attention to his farming pur- 
suits until his death in 1873. His wife survived him for more than two dec- 
ades, passing away in 1894. They were the parents of six children: Henry, 
Elizabeth and Mary, all of whom are deceased; Katharine, the wife of Edward 
Webber, a farmer residing in the village of Clyman; William, a retired farmer 
living in Watertown, Wisconsin; and Christina, deceased. 

Henry Freber was a young lad at the time the family removed to Wisconsin 
and in pursuance of an education attended the district schools of Clyman town- 
ship. He remained upon the home farm with the exception of a short time 
which he spent in Nebraska. In 1861 he married and during the war times he 
removed to that state but shortly thereafter his wife died there and he returned 
to Wisconsin, making his home again with his father. Two children were born 
by the first marriage: Lenora, whose birth occurred February 22, 1862, and who 
is the wife of John Fahl, a farmer residing in Canada; and Louisa, born No- 
vember 24, 1863, who is the wife of Paul Sommerfeld, a farmer and lumber 
dealer of Saskatoon, Canada. Following the death of his first wife Mr. Freber 
married Miss Minnie Young and following this event lived with his parents 
for about five years. At the end of that period his father gave him the farm 
upon which the widow of our subject now resides. He erected substantial 
buildings here, improved the place in many ways and continued the cultivation 
of his fields to the time of his death. He practically spent his entire life since 
his early boyhood in this section with the exception of the short period he spent 
in Nebraska during the Civil war. 

The marriage of Henry Freber to Miss Minnie Young, his second wife, took 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



213 



place in December, 1866. She was born in Nassau, Germany, ' February 19, 
1846, and is a daughter of Peter and Margaret (Meyer) Young, also natives of 
the fatherland. They came to the United States in 1855, settling on a farm 
south of Reeseville, this county, where the remainder of their days were passed, 
the father's death occurring in 1878, while the mother died in 1894. They were 
the parents of five children: Mrs. Freber; Lewis, who resides on the old home- 
stead; Katharine, the wife of John Goebel, a farmer living near Reeseville; Mary, 
the wife of Michael Benninger, living on a farm near Reeseville; and Margaret, 
the wife of Michael Kohn, also a farmer near Reeseville. To the second mar- 
riage of Mr. Freber were born eleven children. Ella, whose birth occurred Sep- 
tember 18, 1868, is the wife of Hans Nelson, a retired farmer living at Windom, 
Minnesota. Albert, born March 19, 1870, follows farming in Canada. Kath- 
arine, born October 22, 187 1, is the wife of Emil Kressine, who is living re- 
tired in Clyman. Frederick, bom February 16, 1873, is a farmer residing near 
Lowell. Mary, born January 2, 1875, is the wife of Otto .Winkelman, living 
retired at Watertown. Rosetta, born July 14, 1876, died December 20, 1881. 
Henry, born January 8, 1879, is a machinist living in Beaver Dam. Minnie, a 
twin sister of Henry, is engaged in teaching in Gettysburg, South Dakota. Dora, 
born January 10, 1882, is the wife of Otto Zimmerman, a farmer of Canada. 
Roy, born August 20, 1884, is looking after his mother's landed interests in 
Canada. George, born August 22, 1886, is yet at home. All of the children 
were born in Clyman township, where Mrs. Freber expects to spend the balance 
of her life. Here she owns and occupies a farm of one hundred and thirty 
acres of fine land which returns to her a gratifying income. Mr. Freber passed 
away August 13, 1905, and left behind him many friends, who esteemed him 
highly for his sterling worth. He voted with the democratic party and served as 
town treasurer and supervisor. His life was in some respects quiet and un- 
eventful but it is such worthy and faithful citizens who constitute the real sta- 
bility of any community. He was industrious and energetic, devoted to his 
familv and faithful to his friends. 



JOHN ANDREW WELSCH. 

John Andrew Welsch, who is conducting a saloon at No. 401 South Spring 
street, Beaver Dam, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1859, and is a 
son of John and Kathrine (Drummer) Welsch, natives of Bavaria, Germany. 
They came to America in 1847, landing in Pennsylvania, where they remained 
until i860, in which year they came to Dodge county where the father died in 
April, 1884. He is buried in Leroy. His wife survives him and makes her 
home in that city. John Welsch is the third in the family of five children. He 
was only one year old when he came to Wisconsin and has spent his entire life 
since that time in this state. He was educated in the public schools of Leroy 
and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-six years of age. 
He then purchased one hundred acres of land in Leroy township and upon this 
farm he resided until 1894, coming in that year to Beaver Dam. Here he estab- 
lished himself in the saloon business at No. 401 South Spring street and has 
been successful and prosperous along this line. 



214 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On November 17, 1886, Mr. Welsch was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
Weix, a daughter of Lawrence and Barbara (Bachuber) Weix, residents of Le- 
roy. Mrs. Welsch is the seventh in a family of thirteen children and was born 
in 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Welsch are the parents of eight children: Timothy J., 
who is private secretary for Congressman M. E. Burke; Hilda, who resides at 
home and is employed as a clerk in a confectionery store ; Hedwig, who is en- 
gaged in the dressmaking business; Helen, who is employed as a bookkeeper in 
a telephone company ; and Katherine, Alphonse, Anna, and John, all of whom 
reside at home. All of the children were educated in St. Mary's parochial school 
and in the Beaver Dam high school. Timothy is a graduate of Wayland Acad- 
emy. The family belong to the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Welsch is prom- 
inent in many societies affiliated with the church. He is a member of Beaver 
Dam Lodge, No. 48, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, and was trustee of that or- 
ganization for three years. He held the same position for six years in St. Peter's 
Society and is now active in the affairs of that body. He also belongs to the 
Fraternal Order of Eagles. His business success and his energy and enterprise 
have made him well known in Beaver Dam. He is interested in the future of 
the city and anxious to do his part in promoting its development. He is a stock- 
holder in the German National Bank and owns property at No. 130 East Mills 
street, in addition to his business and residence property. He is well known in 
local democratic politics and served as clerk in school district No. 8, LeRoy 
township, for six years. For two years he was supervisor of Leroy and is now 
holding the same position in the Second ward of Beaver Dam in the eleventh 
vear of his service. He never seeks to evade the obligations of his citizenship 
and is interested in the growth and prosperity of his section. His standards are 
modern and progressive and his energies, well applied and directed, hav e brought 
his gratifying success. 



Arthur D. Chandler, who is the assistant cashier of the First National 
Bank of Beaver Dam, to which position he was called in 1891, and also one of 
the directors of the bank, was born in this city, November 27, 1870, his par- 
ents being George W. and Marie (Hambright) Chandler. The father was a 
native of New York and the mother of Niles, Michigan, whence she came with 
her parents to Dodge county. George W. Chandler arrived in Beaver Dam 
at an early day and although he had engaged in the woolen manufacturing 
business in the east he afterward turned his attention to agricultural pursuits 
in the west. He died April 6, 1894, and his widow now resides in Beaver Dam. 
By his first marriage the father had two children, both of whom arc now de- 
ceased. Of his marriage to Marie Hambright there were born four sons and 
a daughter, all of whom survive. 

Arthur B. Chandler, the fourth in order of birth, acquired a public school 
education, supplemented by a course of study in the Milwaukee Business Col- 
lege. He was afterward with the Wadhams Oil Company of Milwaukee, and 
on the 1st of July, 1891, came to Beaver Dam, where he entered the First Na- 



ARTHUR B. CHANDLER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



215 



tional Bank as bookkeeper. He has since been connected with this institution 
and almost immediately was made assistant cashier, in which capacity he has 
since served, proving a capable and popular official who has made many friends 
among the patrons of the bank of which he is also a director. For the post 
six months he has been acting cashier of the bank and his labors have made 
him widely known in financial circles in Dodge county. 

Mr. Chandler is also postmaster of Beaver Dam, having been called to the 
office on the 1st of April, 191 1, following his appointment on the 17th of Febru- 
ary of the same year. He was city treasurer in 1897 and in both offices has been 
loyal to the trust reposed in him, discharging his duties with marked prompt- 
ness and fidelity. The present postoffice building has been erected since he was 
appointed postmaster. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and is now 
a member of Beaver Dam Commandery, K. T. The craft finds in him a worthy 
representative, always true to its teachings, and his trustworthiness in every rela- 
tion of life places him in a conspicuous and enviable position. 



ABEL PARK LAWRENCE. 

Abel Park Lawrence is one of the pioneer business men in Beaver Dam 
and since 1854 has been connected with various commercial enterprises in this 
city. He established one of the first grocery stores and has been successful as a 
general merchant, giving his attention at the present time to fire insurance and 
gardening. He is well and favorably known in the city in which he has resided 
since he was twenty-two years of age and is recognized as a man of honor- 
able and straightforward standards, uniform courtesy and unusual business in- 
telligence. He was born in Pepperell, Massachusetts, May 1, 1832, and is a son 
of Abel and Nancy (Jewett) Lawrence, natives of that section. His father 
died in the state in which he was born and the mother passed away in Beaver 
Dam. 

Abel Lawrence was the younger in a family of two children. He was edu- 
cated in the district schools of New England and attended an academy in Mas- 
sachusetts for four terms. His father died when our subject was only ten 
years of age, and he remained with his mother until he was twenty-two years 
of age, coming to Wisconsin in 1854 and settling in Beaver Dam, where he 
worked as a clerk for Hoyt & Smith, general merchants of that city. He was 
engaged in this capacity for only a short time, resigning his position in order 
to teach school. After being engaged for four months in this occupation he 
returned to his former position and clerked until he returned to Massachusetts, 
where he remained until April, of the following year. He then came back to 
Beaver Dam and in 1856 established a grocery store. He carried a full line 
of staple and fancy goods and did not sell intoxicating liquors. He was suc- 
cessful and his business increased yearly until 1863, when his building was 
destroyed by fire. He then erected a brick building, adding a general merchan- 
dise department to his enterprise, which he conducted along modern and pro- 
gressive lines until 1884. In that year he disposed of his interests to Shepard 
& McFadden and went to South Dakota, where he took up one hundred and 



216 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



sixty acres of government land with the intention of following farming. In 
October of the same year, however, he was accidentally wounded by bird shot 
and was disabled for three years. In the meantime he had returned to Beaver 
Dam and established himself in the insurance business, in which line he was 
active and successful for two years. In 1893 he opened another grocery store" 
upon Spring street and this enterprise he conducted until 1909, when he sold 
out and engaged in his present line of occupation, writing fire insurance. He 
also does gardening on a small scale. He is one of the well known and popu- 
lar residents of Beaver Dam and is living in a house at No. 125 North Third 
street, which he erected in 1858. He is practically retired and is giving his time 
to the management of his business interests. 

On December 28, 1857, Mr. Lawrence was united in marriage to Miss Rachel 
R. Smith, a daughter of Edward and Anna (Schrigler) Smith, natives of 
Derbyshire, England. They came to America in 185 1 and settled in Juneau, 
Wisconsin, moving later to Waushara county, where they died. Mrs. Law- 
rence is the fourth in a family of twelve children and was born on the 29th of 
March, 1839. She and her husband became the parents of five children: 
Frank E., who is married and has one daughter, who is residing in South Da- 
kota; Mary E., who married Bayard T. Boylan, of South Dakota, by whom she 
has three children; Lucy M., who became the wife of James Wilson, a native 
of Florida, residing in Denver, by whom she has five children; Carrie J., who 
married Arthur Wilson, by whom she has one son ; and Rachel, who died in 
infancy. Mr. Lawrence has given all of his children an excellent education. 
His three daughters are graduates of the Beaver Dam high school and Ella 
has taken a special course in painting, for which she has a decided talent. Our 
subject and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Decem- 
ber 28, 1907, but unfortunately only two of the children were able to be pres- 
ent. He is one of the early settlers in Beaver Dam and his friends are num- 
bered among the representative and highly esteemed citizens of that city. 

Mr. Lawrence has always been a republican and has voted that ticket in 
presidential elections since the time when Fremont was a candidate. He served 
for three years on the board of aldermen in Beaver Dam and did excellent and 
able work. He and his family are devout adherents of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and Mr. Lawrence is a member of the board of trustees. He takes an 
active interest in religious affairs and for twenty-one years was superintendent 
of the Sunday school. His wife belongs to the Ladies Aid Society and held 
the office of president in that organization for several years. She also be- 
longs to the Eastern Star and to the Rebekahs and was for some time treas- 
urer of the grand lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars. Mr. 
Lawrence is prominent in fraternal circles of the city, holding membership in 
the Masonic order and in the Odd Fellows. He is now practically retired from 
active life and is giving his attention to the supervision of his town property 
and his eighty acres of farm land outside of the city. Upon this he raises fruits 
and vegetables and is unusually successful as an amateur gardener. For well 
over half a century Mr. Lawrence has been identified with the commercial, po- 
litical and social upbuilding of the city of which he is an honored resident. He 
is a true type of the modern business man, shrewd and keen, and with a dis- 
criminating knowledge of values and an appreciation of changing conditions. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



217 



He is a liberal man, desirous of obtaining his own rights and mindful of those 
of others, unquestioned in his integrity and honorable in his business and per- 
sonal life. Upon these qualities he has built up a substantial prosperity and 
has gained the respect and esteem of his many friends. 



RUDOLPH F. MENGEL. 

In the death of Rudolph F. Mengel Dodge county lost a citizen of sterling 
worth. He had many excellent traits of character which endeared him to his 
fellow townsmen, winning for him their confidence and high regard. He made 
farming his life work and was born November 17, 1849, upon the farm which 
is now owned by his widow and upon which he lived until his death, July 3, 
1910. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Franck) Mengel, both of whom 
were born in the Rhine Province, Germany. At nineteen years of age the father 
came to the United States and during pioneer days in Dodge county he and his 
wife took up their abode on government land here. The latter died when her 
son Rudolph was only about fifteen months old. The parents had resided in 
Massachusetts for a number of years and were married in that state but in 1843 
came to Wisconsin, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers who were re- 
claiming this region for the purposes of civilization. John Mengel secured a 
tract of wild land which he cleared and developed and upon which he resided 
until his death, which occurred about 1870. For his second wife he chose Mar- 
garet Shaller, who survived him for ten years. The mother of Rudolph Mengel 
passed away in 1850, leaving two children, the elder being Elizabeth, the wife 
of Gustavus Flohr, a farmer residing in Emmet township. By the second mar- 
riage were born two daughters; Paulina, the wife of J. Leiske, a farmer living 
at Franklin, Minnesota ; and Katie L., the wife of Frank Amtsbauer, also fol- 
lowing farming near Franklin. 

Although Rudolph Mengel lost his mother when less than two years of age, 
his father's second wife proved indeed a kind and faithful mother to him. In 
his youthful days he was sent to the district schools and habits of industry and 
energy were developed through his work upon the home farm. He remained 
thereon throughout his entire life and when twenty-six years of age, on the 
20th of April, 1875, he married Miss Julia Creydt, who was born in Lebanon 
township, Dodge county, December 24, 1852, a daughter of Adolph and Amelia 
(Flohr) Creydt, both of whom were natives of Hanover, Germany, the latter 
born August 24, 1832, and the former January 14, 1819. When fourteen years 
of age, the father was apprenticed to a prominent merchant of the old country, 
with whom he continued until twenty-nine years of age, when he came to the 
new world, making his way direct to Lebanon, Wisconsin, where his brother was 
then living. He at once began farming, purchasing a tract of land in partner- 
ship with his brother. The business relation between them existed until the 
death of Adolph Creydt in 1879. His wife survived him for a long period, 
passing away May 25, 1903. Mrs. Mengel is the eldest of their nine children and 
by her marriage she became the mother of one daughter, Clara E., who was 
born April 17, 1877, and died May 13, 1911, of pneumonia, following measles. 



218 HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 

She had begun a course in nursing and was for a year and a hal f in the hospital 
at Beloit. She was ill only ten days and her death was a great blow to her 
mother and many friends. She held a high place in the esteem of her asso- 
ciates, loved the work and entered upon its duties enthusiastically. Her noble 
character and cheerful disposition won her many friends who sincerely. mourned 
her demise. 

Following his marriage Rudolph Mengel took his bride to the old homestead 
farm, whereon he resided continuously until his death. He was the owner of 
one hundred and fifty-four acres in that tract of land. He carefully and sys- 
tematically tilled his fields, which he brought to a high state of cultivation. He 
made his home upon that farm for sixty-one years, seven months and six days, 
or through the entire period of his span of life. He was highly regarded by 
his fellow townsmen, who frequently gave indication of their confidence in him 
by entrusting him with public offices. He was a man of sterling character, up- 
right in all of his dealings, hating shams and avoiding any show of hypocrisy. 
Charitable and religious causes found in him a friend and his support was ever 
given to worthy public measures which had for their object the welfare and 
upbuilding of the county. His life was indeed honorable and upright and the 
deepest regret was felt at his passing because he had greatly endeared himself 
to all with whom he was associated. 



REV. DANIEL WOODWARD. 

The Rev. Daniel Woodward after giving eighteen years of his life to the 
ministry in the Methodist Episcopal church was by virtue of his fitness for the 
position appointed by Governor McGovern, on November 7, 1911, warden of 
the State Penitentiary at Waupun, where he now is engaged in the discharge 
of his official duties. He was born in Waushara county, Wisconsin, September 
25, 1864, and is a son of John B. and Sarah E. (Moore) Woodward. The 
parents were of Scotch descent and natives of Massachusetts. The father with 
his family removed to Wisconsin in the early '50s and settled on an unimproved 
farm located near Wild Rose, Wisconsin, where he continued to live for fifty 
years, during which time he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Before com- 
ing to Wisconsin he was employed in one of the woolen mills at Lowell, Massa- 
chusetts. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in 1863 in Company 
K, Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and continued with his com- 
mand until peace was established, when he was mustered out in May, 1865. 
lie was an active and loyal republican and was chairman of his township for 
twenty-five years, during which time he also held several other township offices. 
He and his wife were members of the Methodist church. In their family were 
seven sons : J. M., who is a retired minister and resides at Fort Atkinson, 
Wisconsin; H. L. and I. N., both of Wild Rose; Daniel, of this review; W. W., 
who is a minister of the Baptist church and resides at Wild Rose; T. J., also 
residing at Wild Rose; and Orville, who died at the age of four years. 

Daniel Woodward was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools of Wild Rose. On entering the ministry of the Methodist 



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221 



Episcopal church he pursued the required four years' course of conference 
studies, after which he was admitted to full membership in the Wisconsin con- 
ference and for eighteen years he gave his undivided tine and attention to the 
work of the ministry and in that calling he was known throughout the territory 
governed by the Wisconsin conference as one of the loyal and efficient preachers 
and pastors of that ministerial body. During his time of service as a member 
of the conference he served in the appointments of Spring Lake, Stockbridge, 
Waupun, Randolph, Merrill and Sturgeon Bay. While in the ministry he took 
the position that local option was preferable to county option and for his con- 
victions in that particular he was criticised by the Methodist membership and 
suspended from pulpit service by the presiding elder of the district in which he 
served. Rev. Woodward at the ensuing annual conference carried his case be- 
fore the members of that body and was reinstated. He then tendered his resig- 
nation as a member of that body, which was accepted. Three weeks later he 
organized the Congregational church at Omro, Wisconsin, and by the articles 
of incorporation became its pastor. In June, 1912, he was recognized by the 
Winnebago association of the regular Congregational church of Wisconsin, and 
received into full fellowship as a Congregational clergyman; 

During the campaign and preceding the election of Governor McGovern, 
Rev. Woodward devoted much of his time and attention to campaign work and 
as a clear thinker and effective speaker he was one of the influential public men 
of his state and rendered material assistance to the success of the republican 
party in this state at that election. Shortly after the election of Governor Mc- 
Govern Rev. Woodward received the appointment as a member of the board 
of control and later as warden of the State Penitentiary. He has the distinction 
of being the only ex-minister in the United States as warden in charge of a 
state penal institution. He is proving the wisdom of Governor McGovern's 
appointment to that office by the gratifying success which has attended his ad- 
ministration of the prison affairs. Since he assumed incumbency of the office 
Rev. Woodward has abolished the ancient and barbarous custom of hair clip* 
ping, has supplied the prisoners with better and more abundant food and has 
established a well directed correspondence course of study for the convicts. He 
has also put in a new library which cost five hundred dollars and has increased 
the school year to eight months for each convict pupil, and also increased the 
hours of study from one to one and one-half per day, and has also arranged to 
take prisoners out for exercise and recreation on Sunday afternoons. He also 
receives all prisoners personally when they come and personally dismisses them 
when their time expires, advising and assisting them to a higher ideal of life 
in every possible way. He has established a rule by which every prisoner 
is entitled to a private interview with the warden at any time they may desire. 
These reformatory measures have had their effect for good upon the prisoners 
and Mr. Woodward has been highly complimented for his vigorous and humane 
administration of the responsible office in which he is now serving the best 
interests of the state. 

Reverend Woodward has his fraternal relations with the Masonic order and 
belongs to both the lodge and chapter. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows 
lodge. As a campaign speaker he first entered public political work during the 
first campaign of President McKinley, since which time he has continued to 
Tot 11- is 



222 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



take a vital and interested part in the political movements of his state and 
country. He is "to the manner born," as his father has long been known as one 
of the solid, patriotic citizens of Waushara county, in which he has lived for 
more than fifty years. Rev. Woodward is an intelligent and effective platform 
speaker and a man who is known to fearlessly declare his convictions at all 
times without regard to personal interest or public approval. For him to be- 
lieve a thing to be right is sufficient reason to announce the fact and he has often 
been misunderstood and suffered by the bold and fearless declaration of his 
principles. Such men as a rule are safe as leaders of public measures from the 
fact that their convictions are the result of careful study and investigation of 
the matter in hand. 



ALBERT N. METZGER. 

Albert N. Metzger is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and 
sixty-six acres and its neat and thrifty appearance indicates his careful supervi- 
sion and practical methods. This property lies in Clyman township, where 
occurred the birth of Mr. Metzger, March 5, 1863. His parents were Joseph and 
Mary (Spahn) Metzger, who were natives of Alsace, Germany. The father 
came of French parentage and when about eighteen or twenty years of age he 
sailed for the new world, taking up his abode in Clyman township, Dodge county, 
where he purchased a farm one and a half miles west of Clyman. He cleared 
and improved the land and continued its cultivation until his life's labors were 
ended in death on the 25th of November, 1887. His wife had passed away about 
twenty-five years before. Joseph Metzger became an extensive landowner and 
his labors and efforts were a valued element in the improvement and develop- 
ment of the district in which he lived. After the death of his first wife he 
married again and there were three sons born of the second marriage, while 
Albert N. Metzger is the youngest son born of the father's first marriage, by 
which there was a family of twelve children. 

In the schools of Clyman and of Lowell townships Albert N. Metzger pur- 
sued his education and received practical training in the work of the home farm 
through the assistance which he rendered his father from the time he was old 
enough to handle the plow until his father's death. He was married, on the 9th 
of October, 1888, to Miss Amelia Motl, who was born near Watertown, July 
10, 1866, a daughter of Frank and Rosalia (Roffice) Motl, who were natives of 
Bohemia, and became early settlers of Wisconsin, arriving in Dodge county in 
the latter '50s. For a number of years they resided upon a farm and then re- 
moved to Watertown, where they lived for some years but afterward took up 
their abode on a farm in Clyman township, where the mother passed away. 
The father afterward returned to Watertown, where he still makes his home. 
He was married again but his second wife is also deceased. In his family were 
eight children, Mrs. Metzger being the fourth in order of birth. 

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Metiger began their domestic life 
upon a farm in Clyman township which he purchased. After spending three 
years there his health failed him and he sold that property, removing to the vil- 
lage of Clyman, where he remained for a year. He next bought a farm near 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 223 



Lowell and successfully cultivated it until 1904, when he sold that property 
and purchased his present place, comprising one hundred and sixty-six acres 
of highly improved land, on which he carries on general fanning. His fields 
are well tilled, his fences and buildings are kept in good repair and the neat and 
thrifty appearance of his place indicates him to be a practical and progressive 
agriculturist. 

Mr. and Mrs. Metzger are the parents of three children. Lawrence, born 
July 11, 1889, married Anna Casper and follows farming at Clyman. Elenora, 
born December 9, 1890, and Leo, born November 30, 1896, are both at home. 
The parents are members of the Roman Catholic church in Clyman. In politics 
Mr. Metzger is a democrat and his fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and 
ability, have elected him to several local offices. He acted as assessor and also 
represented the village of Lowell on the county board of supervisors, of which 
he was chairman. He is ever interested in the welfare and upbuilding of town 
and county and supports any measure or movement which he believes will con- 
tribute to the growth and prosperity of the district. 



ELLEN LYONS. 



The work which Ellen Lyons has accomplished in the development of her 
fine farm on section 22, Clyman township, does much to disprove the old idea 
that business ability and executive force are monopolized by men. For many 
years she has given her entire attention to the improvement of her property and 
has become recognized as one of the most able agriculturists in this part of Wis- 
consin. She was born in New York, March 14, 1850, and is a daughter of Pat- 
rick and Catherine (McCormick) Lyons. The father was a native of Dublin, 
Ireland, born in 1817, and came to America when he was fourteen years of age. 
In New York he learned the tinsmith's trade and worked at it until he was thirty 
years of age. In that year he came as a pioneer to Wisconsin, settling in Clyman 
township at a time when there were very few settlers in this part of the state. 
The land which he purchased was covered with a dense growth of timber which 
he was obliged to clear before the work of development could be begun. Acre 
by acre, it was brought under the plow and gradually by hard and unremitting 
work Mr. Lyons turned a wilderness into fertile fields. He suffered many 
hardships in the early days of his settlement here. For some time he was 
obliged to haul all of his grain to Milwaukee by ox team, but gradually condi- 
tions improved and civilization became slowly established. Mr. Lyons devoted 
his entire time to farming, in which he engaged until his death, which occurred 
when he was eighty-one years of age. His wife was a native of County Long- 
ford, Ireland, and she also has passed away. To their union were born eight 
children : Thomas, whose birth occurred in New York ; Eliza, born in New York, 
who is married and lives in Ogden, Utah; Ellen, our subject; Annie, a resident 
of Minnesota ; Catherine, who was born in Clyman township, August 28, 1854, 
and who makes her home with her sister Ellen; Emma, also born in Clyman 
township, who lives in Milwaukee; Marguerite, a native of the same section. 



224 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



who married William Whitton and makes her home with the subject of this 
review; and Patrick, who is married and resides in Minnesota. 

After the death of Patrick Lyons the farm was operated by one of his sons 
for seven years, when it came into possession of Ellen and Catherine Lyons, 
who have resided upon the property since that time. Since she has assumed con- 
trol Miss Lyons has made substantial improvements, has built a fine new barn 
and a long stone house for her chickens. She does farming and is extensively 
interested in dairying, keeping a fine grade of cows for this purpose. She has 
followed steadily the most practical and systematic methods and has been re- 
warded for her care and labor by the excellent condition of her property which 
is one of the most attractive farms in this locality. She is a woman of rare ex- 
ecutive force, a daughter of a Wisconsin pioneer, with much of her father's 
sturdy power and she has become recognized in the course of years as one of 
the most successful agriculturists in this part of the county. 



AUGUST A. GENRICH. 

August A. Genrich owns one hundred and thirty-three acres of land two and 
one-half miles north of Juneau and upon this property is carrying on farming, 
gaining prosperity which is the natural result of practical application. He was 
born in Pomerania, Germany, May 8, 1866, a son of Frank and Tena (Litz) 
Genrich, natives of that province. They came to America in 1867, settling first 
in Milwaukee and coming from that city to Dodge county, where they located 
on a farm at Rolling Prairie. Upon this land they remained until 1874, when 
they moved to Nebraska and there resided for three years, at the end of which 
time they returned to Rolling Prairie and remained there for a number of years. 
The father owns extensive property upon what is known as Clayson Prairie 
and gives a general supervision to its management although he has retired from 
active farm life and lives in Beaver Dam. 

August A. Genrich is the eldest of a family of eight children. He attended 
the district schools and lived at home until he was twenty-five years of age. At 
that time he rented a farm near Burnett and engaged in general agricultural 
pursuits. After two years he bought land in Burnett township, which he oper- 
ated for nine years, being obliged to move to Beaver Dam at the end of that 
time on account of Mrs. Genrich's failing health. In that city he engaged in 
the teaming business for five years and then purchased land near Juneau, upon 
which he resides. He owns one hundred and thirty-three acres, highly im- 
proved and equipped with the latest farm machinery and devotes his entire 
time to the management and development of his property. He owes his pros- 
perity to long familiarity with soil conditions, to personal experience in the 
fields and to the intelligence which directs his activities, and reaps its results 
in increasingly abundant harvests. 

On September 2, 1891, Mr. Genrich married Miss Anna Schroeder, who 
was born February 12, 1871, a daughter of Henry and Hannah (Kaske) 
Schroeder, natives of Pomerania, Germany, who came to America about 1870 
and settled in Rolling Prairie, where they have since resided. The father is a 



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225 



grain buyer for the Appleton Malting Company and owns large tracts of valu- 
able property in the township, his sons having assumed charge of the opera- 
tion of his farms. Mr. and Mrs. Genrich have three children: Wright Henry, 
born December 17, 1893; Mabel, born July 31, 1896; and Gladys, born Sep- 
tember 6, 1898. The family belong to the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Genrich is interested in the Lutheran Insurance Company at Appleton. 
He is one of the sterling and substantial citizens of Dodge county, who seeks 
success in a field which has repaid his labors by increasing prosperity. . 



JOHN M. MANLEY. 

John M. Manley, proprietor of the Manley Hotel at Beaver Dam, is a native 
son of the city, having been born September 8, 1873. His parents were Michael 
and Anna Manley, natives of Ireland, who came from that country to Wiscon- 
sin and were married in this state. The father passed away in 1905 and the 
mother died in the following year. 

John M. Manley was one of nine children born to his parents. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of his native city and when he had laid aside his books 
worked at various occupations for some time. He began to gain hotel experi- 
ence as an employe in the old Clark House and after twelve years of this activity 
became proprietor of the Manley Hotel in December, 1909, and has been associ- 
ated with its management and operation since that time. He is the sole owner 
of the establishment and during only three years has made it the leading hotel 
in the city. It is conducted conservatively and systematically and has been made 
comfortable and modern in every detail. It is operated always with a view to 
the needs and convenience of its guests and has prospered because of the effici- 
ency of its manager and by reason of the upright and honorable business stand- 
ards which he advocates and follows. 

Mr. Manley was married in 1903 to Miss Grace Hammer, a daughter of Jo- 
seph Hammer, of Beaver Dam. He is well known in the Fraternal Order of 
Eagles and has many friends in Beaver Dam, who have known him since his 
childhood. 



DELOS B. TERRY, D. D. S. 

Delos B. Terry, D. D. S., who since 1897 has engaged in the practice of 
dentistry in Beaver Dam, occupying a foremost place in the ranks of the pro- 
fession, was born on September 14, 1862, and is a son of Caleb M. and Martha 
T. Terry. He received his education in the public schools of Lowell, Wiscon- 
sin, and was graduated from the Chicago Dental College in 1897. He has had 
to work for every advantage he has had in life and has attained his present posi- 
tion by conquering obstacles and overcoming difficulties. He worked during the 
summers when he was acquiring his education and went to school in the winter 
months. When he reached the age of twenty-one years, he had become suffici- 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ently proficient to teach school, and supported himself in this way until he entered 
the Chicago Dental College, from which he graduated with the degree of D. D. 
S. He located immediately for practice in Beaver Dam and has been increas- 
ingly successful with every year. He had married at the age of twenty-eight years 
and it was not until he was thirty-one that he definitely determined upon the 
practice of dentistry. His professional course was taken when he was thirty- 
two years of age and was acquired with his own means. The qualities which 
marked him as a boy and a young man have been characteristic of his later life 
and have won him wide reputation as a dentist and recognition as an unusual and 
determined man. 

Dr. Terry was married September 17, 1890, to Miss Ursula Gibson, a daughter 
of John W. and Rosetta Gibson of Lowell, Wisconsin. Mrs. Terry is a charming 
and well informed woman and has been a valuable aid to her husband in his 
career. In his political affiliations Dr. Terry is an independent democrat, giving 
a general allegiance to the party principles but reserving his freedom of judg- 
ment. He is interested in the opportunities of education in the state of Wisconsin 
and is serving at the present time as president of the school board. He affiliates 
with the Methodist church. The place which he holds among his colleagues and 
fellow citizens is an enviable one, and his success must be the more satisfactory to 
him, as he has won it for himself. The result reflects credit upon him as an in- 
dividual and ranks him among successful men by reason of the distinction. 



ARTHUR A. MARQUARDT. 

Arthur A. Marquardt, one of the best known and most progressive representa- 
tives of farming interests in Hubbard township, applies to the duties which devolve 
upon him in the development of one hundred and thirty-five acres of land the 
liberal education which he has acquired and which makes his labors more effect- 
ive and far reaching. He was born in Williamstown, Dodge county, March 18, 
1888, and is a son of William Marquardt, a native of Germany, born December 
8, i860. His father came to America when a young man and, although he had 
learned the machinist's trade in his native country, never engaged in it in the 
United States, giving his entire time to agricultural pursuits. By earnest and per- 
sistent work he gained success and a competence which enabled him to retire from 
active life. lie built a fine home in the city of Horicon and in it resides with his 
wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Josephine Brummund, born in Herman 
township, Dodge county, March 8, 1862. 

In the acquirement of an education Arthur A. Marquardt attended the Ger- 
man schools at Horicon and was also a pupil in the Horicon public schools. This 
he supplemented by a course in the International Correspondence School and by 
hard work in the night school at Horicon, thus completing an excellent general 
education. He worked upon the home farm until his marriage on the 8th of 
June. 191 1 . and then rented from his father the one hundred and thirty-five acres 
which he operates. He has devoted special attention to dairying, keeping a fine 
herd of graded Holstein cows for this purpose. He is a young man and has given 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 227 

evidence of an energetic and progressive spirit which will undoubtedly carry him 
forward into important relations with agricultural interests of this section. 

Mr. Marquardt's wife was in her maidenhood Miss Ella Buss, and she was 
born in Hubbard township, January 9, 1887. Her parents, August and Anna 
(Hilgendorf) Buss, natives of Germany, are living in Hubbard township. Mr. 
and Mrs. Marquardt have one daughter, Esther, who was born June 30, 1912. 
Mr. Marquardt gives his allegiance to the republican party and is active in his 
support of measures in which he believes, although he never seeks public office. 
His religious views are in accord with those of the Lutheran church. His many 
sterling traits have won him high regard and, although still young, he is one of 
the successful and prominent citizens of this part of Wisconsin. 



JOHN HENRY SHERMAN, M. D. 

Dr. John H. Sherman is a native son of. Beaver Dam and is now living 
retired in that city after an active and useful life as a general medical practi- 
tioner. He was born on October 22, 1863, and is a son of John and Eva 
(Schwerts) Sherman, natives of Saxe-Coburg, Germany. Their marriage 
occurred in Oswego, New York, about the year 1848 and shortly afterward 
they came to Wisconsin, settling in Beaver Dam. The father was a cooper by 
trade and established a factory in this city, where he specialized in the making 
of flour barrels. He engaged in this line of occupation until 1868. when he 
disposed of his business. Two years afterward he became associated with 
T. C. Zanden in the general merchandise business and the partnership continued 
for about fifteen years to their mutual advantage. At the end of that time Mr. 
Sherman sold his interest to Mr. Zanden and from that time until his death 
lived practically retired. He passed away in 1902, when he was seventy-six 
years old, having survived his wife by two years, her death having occurred 
when she had reached the age of seventy. Both are buried in Oakwood 
cemetery. 

Dr. Sherman was the youngest in a family of seven children. He was 
educated in the public schools of his native city and was graduated from the 
pharmaceutical department of the University of Wisconsin with the class of 
1884. He later entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, receiving the degree 
of M. D. in 1890. He afterward spent two years in the Milwaukee Hospital, 
gaining valuable practical experience. At the end of that time he located for 
practice in Fountain City, where for two years he was successful and pros- 
perous. He then moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and after a short time in that 
city went to Chicago. When he left Illinois he settled in Beaver Dam and from 
the very beginning his success was gratifying, based as it was upon the firm 
foundation of scientific efficiency. He has now given up his active duties and 
has been living retired in this city since 1900. 

In November, 1899, Dr. Sherman was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
Ann Sherman, a daughter of Paul and Mary Sherman, natives of Saxe-Coburg, 
Germany. The parents were married in New York state and spent their entire 
lives in that state. Mrs. Sherman was the fifth in a family of seven children 
and her birth occurred on the 14th of February, 1863. 



228 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Dr. Sherman has always been a democrat in his political views but beyond 
voting the party ticket takes no active part in public affairs. He has many friends 
in the city in which he resides. He and his wife are members of the First Pres- 
byterian church and the Doctor is a member of the board of trustees of that- 
organization. 



The cheese-making industry as well as agricultural interests in Dodge county 
have profited by the activities of Christ Wenger, owner of three cheese factories 
and of one of the model farms of Hubbard township. Throughout the district 
Mr. Wenger is recognized as one of the men whose work contributes to the 
development of this district, and he is highly esteemed for his substantial char- 
acter, his straightforward methods and his honesty of purpose. A native of 
Switzerland, Mr. Wenger was born April 6, 1868, and is a son of Christ and 
Marie Wenger, natives of that country. His father was born in 1830 and passed 
away in 1892. His wife is also deceased. 

Christ Wenger attended school in Switzerland and remained in that coun- 
try until 1893, when he came to America and worked as a cheese-maker. He 
had learned cheese-making in Switzerland when a boy and worked at that 
employment in his native country from early youth. That his activities along 
this line have been successful is evidenced by the fact that he owns three large 
cheese factories, one located a mile and a half east of Horicon, one five and 
a half milts southeast of Mayville and the other upon his farm in Hubbard 
township. Laudable ambition has directed his labors along this line and has 
combined with his fine business intelligence and his effective executive force to 
place him among the business men of Dodge county, whose work has been most 
directly beneficial to the general interests of the section. Of late years Mr. 
Wenger has put managers in his different factories in order that he may have 
more time to give to the development of his farm of sixty-four acres. This 
property he purchased five years ago and since that time has made many sub- 
stantial improvements in buildings and equipment. He erected recently a fine 
new barn and a comfortable house, as well as the newest of his cheese factories. 
Upon the property he does general farming, giving special attention to dairy- 
ing, keeping for the latter purpose graded and registered Holstein cattle, and 
both branches of his work yield him a fine annual income. Mr. Wenger is 
intensely practical in all that he undertakes and the careful consideration which 
he gives to every phase of a subject before he definitely forms his plans has 
been one of the features of his success. He keeps in touch with the people of 
the country who have interests similar to his own through his membership in 
the Cheese Makers Association and thus is familiar with every new development 
in methods or in the scientific aspects of his business. 

Mr. Wenger married, on the i6th of April, 1900, Miss Magdalina Gertsch, 
who was born December 24. 1874, a daughter of Gotlieb and Marguerite 
(Gobeli) Gertsch, natives of Switzerland, both of whom passed away in that 
country. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger have three children. Bertha. Emma and Edward, 



CHRIST WENGER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



229 



all of whom attend the district school. Mr. Wenger does not give his allegiance 
to any political party, voting independently. Throughout the nineteen years of 
his residence in this section he has labored effectively for the agricultural 
and industrial development and by reason of his business enterprise, his integ- 
rity and his sterling personal worth has taken a high place among the class # of 
men whom America welcomes so eagerly as adopted citizens. 



WILLIAM FERDINAND KRAETZNER. 

William Ferdinand Kraetzner, who has until recently operated a farm in Oak 
Grove township, moved in 1912 upon one hundred and fifty-six acres in Lowell 
township, which he is now cultivating, and is ranked among the progressive and 
enterprising agriculturists of Dodge county. His birth occurred June 4, 1865, in 
Theresa township, and he is a son of Ferdinand and Carolina (Belling) Kraetz- 
ner, natives of Germany. The father was born in Tajnsdorf, November 4, 1827, 
and the mother in Schulzendorf, November 11, 1832. They crossed the Atlantic 
to America in 1854 and settled upon a farm in Theresa township, on which the 
father died in February, 1907, and the mother in March of the following year. 

William Kraetzner attended district school in Theresa township and aided 
his father in the work of the farm until his marriage after which he purchased 
the homestead and began an independent agricultural career. He first had 
eighty-six acres of highly improved land in excellent condition which he oper- 
ated as a stock farm until 1908, when he bought his Oak Grovi farm. Upon 
this property he made extensive improvements, built new buildings and installed 
modern equipment, making it one of the most attractive and valuable farms in 
the neighborhood. In 1912 he sold this place and bought one hundred and 
fifty-six acres in Lowell township, to which he has just moved. 

On May 11, 1905, Mr. Kraetzner was united in marriage to Miss Lorenda 
Benzel, who was born in Theresa township, February 25, 1883, a daughter of 
Emil and Bertha (Seling) Benzel, the former born in Germany and the latter 
in Theresa township. Mr. and Mrs. Kraetzner have three children: Irvin, born 
November 7, 1906; Selma, born in April, 1910; and Elmer, whose birth occured 
in March, 1912. The family belong to the Lutheran church at Horicon. Mr. 
Kraetzner gives his allegience to the republican party but has never been active 
in public life, preferring to devote his entire attention to the management of his . 
farm. 



HERMAN BARTELT. 

The farming interests of Oak Grove township find a worthy representative 
in Herman Bartelt, who owns and cultivates ninety-four acres of land. His 
birth occurred in Hubbard township. Dodge county, on the 28th of August, 
1882, his parents being August and Augusta (Kraus) Bartelt, more extended 
mention of whom is made on another page of this work in connection with the 



230 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



sketch of Frank S. Bartelt, a brother of our subject. He obtained his educa- 
tion in the district schools of Oak Grove township and also attended a German 
school in Juneau during one winter. When not busy with his text-books he 
assisted in the operation of the home farm, thus early becoming familiar with 
th| duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. On attaining his 
majority he purchased the old homestead and was busily engaged in its oper- 
ation until 1909, when he disposed of the property and bought the farm of 
ninety-four acres on which he has resided to the present time. The land is all 
under a high state of cultivation and the neat and thrifty appearance of the 
place gives evidence of the supervision of a practical and progressive owner. 
Mr. Bartelt cultivates the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and is also 
engaged in dairying to some extent, marketing his product at the Essman cheese 
factory adjoining his farm, in which he is a stockholder. 

On the 20th of October, 1907, Mr. Bartelt was joined in wedlock to Miss 
Olga Stark, who was born in Hubbard township, this county, on the 15th of 
August, 1887, her parents being Carl and Clara (Youlka) Stark, natives of 
Germany. They became early settlers of Hubbard township, Dodge county, 
Wisconsin, where Mr. Stark purchased land and followed farming. In 1901 
he took up his abode in Hustisford township, where he has remained to the 
present time, being still busily engaged in the work of the fields. 

Politically Mr. Bartelt is a republican, while his religious faith is indicated 
by his membership in the Lutheran church at Juneau. Both he and his wife 
have always lived in this county and their circle of friends here is a wide one. 
A young man of enterprise and ability, he has already won a creditable meas- 
ure of prosj :rity and the future is bright with promise. 



WILL L. JONES, D. D. S. 

Dr. Will L. Jones, a prominent dentist in Beaver Dam, was born at Racine, 
Wisconsin, November ir, 1866, and is a son of Thomas and Winifred (Lewis) 
Jones. The father came from his native country, Wales, to Wisconsin at an early 
date and followed his trade of tailor in Racine for a number of years. He sub- 
sequently moved to Fox Lake, where he died in 1895, having survived his wife, 
who passed away in 1887. He was an adherent of the Presbyterian church and 
well known as a man of exemplary character. 

Dr. Jones was reared at home and educated in the public schools of Fox Lake 
and attended Fox Lake College. He was graduated from the Chicago College 
of Dental Surgery in 1890 being the valedictorian of his class and located imme- 
diately for practice in Beaver Dam and has been increasingly successful since 
that time. 

On November 4, 1891, Dr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Grace G. 
Gorton, a daughter of Profes'sor O. N. and Harriet M. (Palmer) Gorton, of 
Fox Lake. Dr. Jones' first wife died in 1907 and on February 14, 191 1, our 
subject was again married, his second union being with Miss Emma Alene 
Gorton, a -sister of his former wife. To the first union was born a daughter, 
Harriet Winifred. She is a graduate of Wayland Academy of 1910 and received 
from the University of Chicago in June, 1912, the title of associate with honors. 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



231 



Mrs. Jones' brother, Dr. F. T. Gorton, is a practicing physician of Portage, 
Wisconsin. 

In his political views Dr. Jones is a consistent republican and has served 
as school commissioner for several terms and as president of the school board 
with great energy and talent He is also on the public library board and his 
cooperation is never sought in vain for any movement looking toward educa- 
tional expansion. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Dental Society and 
belongs to Dodge County Lodge, No. 72, F. & A. M., of which organization 
he is a past master, and is likewise a member of the Chapter. He was president 
of the Masonic Temple Building Association and has done valuable and im- 
portant work in this capacity. He brings to the practice of his profession an 
efficient equipment in the technical and mechanical details of dentistry, guided 
by business judgment and practical common sense, and the high quality of his 
work has increased his patronage every year, until today he is prominent and 
successful in his profession. 



LEWIS J. YOUNG. 

Lewis J. Young, who for a long period was connected with agricultural 
pursuits in Dodge county, is now a factor in the commercial life of Clyman, 
where he is engaged in the hardware and implement business as a partner of 
Harry L. Morgan. He was born in Rubicon township, this county, May 5, 
1884, a son of Lewis C. and Abbie Jane (Mann) Young, the former a native of 
Rochester, New York, and the latter of Neosho, this county. In early man- 
hood the father engaged in teaching school but later engaged in tally work for' 
a large lumber concern. He was a small boy when he came to Wisconsin with 
his parents, who located in Rubicon township, where eventually Lewis C. Young 
became a landowner with extensive holdings. He carefully and systematically 
developed his interests and continued to engage in farming to the time of his 
death, although he spent the winter months during the latter part of his life in 
California and the south, his death occurring in the year 1905. He had for 
five years survived his wife, who passed away in the year 1900. 

Lewis J. Young was the fourth in order of birth in their family of six chil- 
dren and at the usual age began his education as a pupil in the district schools 
of Rubicon township. He also studied for a time at Hartford and when seven- 
teen years of age he assumed the management of the old homestead property, 
comprising two hundred and thirty-three acres on sections 33 and 34, Rubicon 
township. He proved competent to manage farming interests of this character 
and when twenty-two years of age he bought the old home property, which he 
continued to further develop and cultivate until 1909. He then rented it and 
has since engaged in merchandising, while in 191 1 he sold the home farm in 
order to concentrate his energies more largely upon his present business. Two 
years before he had joined H. L. Morgan in the hardware trade and is now 
junior partner in the firm of Morgan & Young, who are extensively engaged 
in dealing in farm machinery, buggies, binders, twine, harness, paints, oils, sport- 
ing goods, gasoline engines and pumps. They also carry an extensive stock of 



232 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



shelf and heavy hardware, and do pump repairing, conduct a garage and carry 
on a general livery business. 

On the 25th of November, 1908, Mr. Young was married to Miss Mabel 
Jessie Bunnell, and they have two children: Ennison Mann, born in February, 
1910; and Lewis Russell, born on the 1st of September, 1912. Mr. Young 
holds membership with the Eagles and the Knights of Pythias. He is a young 
man of determination and energy, who carries forward to successful completion 
whatever he undertakes. Clyman numbers him among her valued citizens be- 
cause of his progressive spirit. 



Isadore Wilk is a partner in the firm of Wilk Brothers, who established the 
first exclusively men's clothing store in Beaver Dam, beginning business in 1889, 
since which time they have steadily advanced in popular favor until their estab- 
lishment is now accorded an extensive patronage and brings to them a gratify- 
ing measure of prosperity. Isadore Wilk was born in Russia, in i860, his 
parents being Aaron and Helene Wilk. The father, before going to Russia had 
lived in Germany until 1856, and about 1868, returned to Germany, following 
the death of his wife, which occurred in Russia. He was married again in the 
fatherland and continued to make his home in that country where he was en- 
gaged in the lumber business. 

Isadore Wilk was largely reared in Germany and .in 1880, when twenty 
years of age, came to the United States, having determined to try his fortune 
on this side of the Atlantic because of the favorable reports which he heard 
concerning the business opportunites of the United States. He made his way 
at once to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he engaged in peddling goods in the 
city for about thirteen months. The year after his arrival he was joined by 
his brother Herman and as partners they opened a store in Minneapolis for the 
sale of men's furnishing goods, but sold out eighteen months later. Isadore 
Wilk then established a dairy farm near the city and conducted it for twenty- 
one months. While on the farm he was married, on the 7th of June, 1885, to 
Miss Helene Werhlanske. Her father, a native of Poland, went to Germany 
as a boy and there married the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sass. They 
lived and died in Germany but their daughter Helene came to the United States 
in her girlhood. She had been a schoolmate of Mr. Wilk in Germany and came 
to the new world as his betrothed, the marriage being celebrated soon after her 
arrival. For more than a quarter of a century they traveled life's journey hap- 
pily together and were then separated by the death of the wife, July 22, 191 1. 
They were the parents of four children: Benjamin, who is connected with the 
magazine business in New York city ; Harriet, at home ; Henry, who was born 
November 15, 1890, and died April 22, 191 1, at the age of twenty-one years and 
five months ; and Irving, who was born in 1892 and died at the age of three 
months. 

After his marriage Mr. Wilk sold his dairy and returned to Minneapolis, 
where he again conducted a store until 1889, and then removed to Beaver Dam, 



ISADORE WILK. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



233 



Here as a member of the firm of Wilk Brothers he opened a store at 106 Front 
street, being the first exclusive dealers in men's clothing in this city. Mr. Wilk 
holds membership with the Masonic lodge at Beaver Dam. He has made for 
himself an excellent record as a business man during his residence in this city. 



HARRY L. MORGAN. 

Harry L. Morgan is the senior partner of the firm of Morgan & Young and 
as such is one of the oldest merchants in Clyman in years of continuous con- 
nection with business activity here. Throughout this entire period he has been 
alert, enterprising and energetic — qualities which have constituted the founda- 
tion upon which he has builded his success. He was born at Rosendale, Wis- 
consin, September 20, 1876, a son of Lysond and Josephine (Anderson) Morgan, 
both of whom were natives of England, the former born May 16, 1846, and the 
latter on the 10th of November, 1854. The father was a lad of six years when 
brought by his parents to the new world, the family home being established at 
Rosendale, Fond du Lac county, where he grew to manhood and became a land- 
owner, there engaging in farming up to the time of his death, which occurred 
on the 19th of January, 1909. It was at Friendship, Fond du Lac county, that 
he wedded Josephine Anderson, who survives him and lives on the old home- 
stead. He had been previously married and to the first union one child was 
born: Frank W., who is a traveling salesman and general manager for the 
Reeves Thresher Company, living at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. By the second mar- 
riage were born four children: Harry L. ; Irwin J., who resides on the old home- 
stead; John, who also remains on the farm; and Hazel, the wife of Henry Hol- 
lander, a farmer living in Lamartine township, Fond du Lac county. 

Harry L. Morgan attended school in Rosendale and when not occupied with 
his text-books worked in the fields, remaining at home until the time he attained 
his majority. He believed that he would find commercial pursuits, however, 
more congenial and profitable than farming and at the age of twenty-one left 
home and secured a clerkship in the hardware store of J. A. Bunnell at Cly- 
man. After three years spent as a salesman he purchased the business in part- 
nership with Ed. Motl, with whom he conducted the store for three years, when 
Mr. Motl sold his interest to Henry Freber, the firm of Morgan & Freber exist- 
ing for one year. On the expiration of that period Mr. Morgan purchased his 
partner's interest and was alone in business for five years, at the end of which 
time he admitted his brother-in-law, L. J. Young, to a partnership that still 
exists under the firm style of Morgan & Young. They carry a complete line 
of farm machinery, buggies, binders, twine, harness, paints, oils, sporting goods, 
gasoline engines and pumps, together with an extensive stock of shelf and 
heavy hardware, and they also do pump repairing, conduct a garage and carry 
on a general livery business. Mr. Morgan is likewise a director of the Farmers 
State Bank of Clyman and is collector for three different insurance companies. 
He concentrates his energies upon his business affairs, which are growing in 
volume and importance, and he is recognized as one of the most active, ener- 
getic and progressive business men of the city. 



"284 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On the 22d of January, 1902, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Myrtle J. 
Bunnell, who was born in Clyman township, Dodge county, January 28, 1879, 
and is a daughter of James A. and Jennie (Ennison) Bunnell. Mr. and Mrs. 
Morgan have become parents of three children : Grace Florence, born December 
23, 1903; Mildred Gladys, January 13, 1908; and Milton B., March 14, 1910. 
Mr. Morgan holds membership in the Modern Woodmen camp, in which he is 
serving as banker, and he is secretary of the Beavers. In politics he is an inde- 
pendent republican but has never aspired to office. He votes according to the 
dictates of his judgment rather than that of party bosses, and at all times he 
stands loyally in defense of what he believes to be for the best interests of 
the community. 



ROLAND E. SCHOEN, M. D. 

Dr. Roland E. Schoen is one of the well known and influential citizens of 
Beaver Dam where he is engaged in the general practice of medicine. In his 
high professional attainment and in the humanitarian principles by which he 
carries on his work he is following his father in an honorable career. He was 
born on May 4, 1878, in Mayville, Wisconsin, and is a son of Dr. August F. and 
Margaret (Owen) Schoen. He is of German ancestry, his father having come 
to the United States in 1864 from the province of Brandenburg when he was 
still a youth, and settled in Mayville, where he received his education in the 
Lutheran parochial school. When he laid aside his books he entered the em- 
ploy of R. Sauerhering in the drug business and later followed this line of ac- 
tivity in Chicago. He lost his entire fortune in the fire of 1871 and returned to 
Mayville where he established a drug business and met with a gratifying degree 
of success. In 1883 he was graduated from Rush Medical College at Chicago 
with the degree of M. D. He immediately located for practice in Mayville, 
where he has been successful as a physician since that time. He has always 
been a republican and a stanch supporter of the party principles. He has 
lived in America continuously since his arrival with the exception of some time 
spent in touring Germany, France and Switzerland in 1905. He is one of the 
able and enterprisig doctors of Mayville and has built up an extensive practice 
during the period of his residence in that city. 

Dr. Roland E. Schoen was educated in the public schools of his native city 
and was graduated from the high school in 1897. He attended the University 
of Chicago and in 1903 received his doctor's degree from Rush Medical Col- 
lege. He supplemented this efficient education by eighteen months in the Engle- 
wood hospital in Chicago. When his father left upon his journey through va- 
rious European countries Dr. Roland Schoen relieved him of his practice, lo- 
cating in Beaver Dam on October 25, 1905. He has been a resident of this 
city since that time and his practice has been continually increasing with every 
year of his activity. He is interested in every phase of the medical profes- 
sion. While he was a resident of Chicago he was connected with the Second 
Regiment hospital corps and has been city physician and health officer in Beaver 
Dam since 1907. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



235 



the Dodge County Medical Society and is also affiliated with the National Asso- 
ciation. 

On June 26, 1907, Dr. Schoen was united in marriage to Miss Franciska 
Butterbrodt, a daughter of August Butterbrodt of Beaver Dam. Mrs. Schoen 
is one of nine children born to her parents. The others are: Ernest, who is a 
resident of Trenton township; Fred, of Burnett township; Charlie, who resides 
in Beaver Dam; Augusta, who is the wife of Herman Albrecht, of the same 
city ; and Marie, Frank, Herman Albert and Arthur, all of whom are residents 
of Beaver Dam. 

In his political affiliations Dr. Schoen is a democrat but does not take a 
very active part in political affairs. His public spirit, however, has found a 
worthy expression in another direction, which will prove of everlasting good to 
the community, for it was through his efforts that the Beaver Dam hospital 
was established and opened on October 18, 191 2, filling a long-felt want, as it is 
the first institution of its kind in the city. He affiliates with the Lutheran church 
and is widely known as a man of exemplary character. He has gained an ex- 
tensive and valuable patronage in the city in which he resides which numbers 
him among the prominent medical practitioners of the county. His high profes- 
sional attainments and the sterling qualities of his character justify the respect 
and esteem in which he is held by the medical fraternity and by the local public. 



CHARLES F. NORTH, M. D. 

Dr. Charles F. North bases his undoubted success in the general practice of 
medicine upon his splendid professional training, his scientifically efficient 
methods of work and his excellent general and specialized knowledge. He was 
born April 24, 1854, in New Britain, Connecticut, and is a son of Fred H. and 
Mary E. North. His family is descended from John North who came from 
England in 1635 and settled in Hartford county, Connecticut. Fred H. North, 
the father of our subject, came west to Chicago in 1890, and seven years later 
came with his son to Beaver Dam. Here his death occurred. During his life 
he had been a prominent and successful manufacturer but retired from business 
in 1876. His wife was born October 9, 1833, and their marriage occurred in 
New Britain, Connecticut, in August, 1850. They were the parents of three 
children : Charles F., the subject of this sketch ; Grace Eugenia, who died at the 
age of twenty-three ; and Mary F., whose birth occurred on February 19, 1862, 
and who is now a resident of Beaver Dam. 

Dr. North was educated in public and private schools of New Britain, Con- 
necticut, and received his early training at home. In 1879, determining to take 
up the practice of medicine, he went to Germany to study his profession in the 
efficient schools of that country. He remained there five years, graduating from 
the University of Leipsic in 1884. He took the degree of doctor of medicine and 
surgery and of obstetrics from this institution and supplemented this course by 
special studies in the University of Prague. 

On April 3, 1884, in Leipsic, Dr. North was united in marriage to Miss 
Elizabeth C. C. Kunz, a daughter of Camillo and Theresa (Guenther) Kunz, 



236 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



natives of Saxony, Germany, where their marriage occurred. Mrs. North's 
grandfather was a prominent engineer in his native country and built the first 
railroad in Germany. He earned the title of major during the Crimean war, 
and all during his life gave his attention to the details of his profession. Mrs. 
North's father was crown attorney in Germany and one of the prominent and 
representative members of the bar of that country. Her brother, Dr. Walter 
C. Kunz, is a practicing physician in Rosario, Argentine Republic. To Dr. and 
Mrs. North have been born three children. Grace Elizabeth, born in Chicago, 
October 23, 1886, is a graduate of the Beaver Dam high school, Wayland Acad- 
emy and Dennison University of Granville, Ohio, from which latter institution 
she took a degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, and taught for some years in 
the Cumberland high school at Cumberland, Wisconsin, but is now a resident 
of Beaver Dam. Elsie G, born in Chicago, May 11, 1891, is a graduate of the 
high school of Beaver Dam and of Wayland Academy and now a student at 
Dennison University. Walter S., who was born in Beaver Dam, July 12, 1893, 
is now attending the public schools. 

In his political affiliations Dr. North is a consistent republican but never 
seeks public office. He is affiliated with various organizations connected with 
his profession. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the 
Dodge County Medical Society, of which body he has been president. Fra- 
ternally he is a blue lodge Mason and is master of Dodge County Lodge, No. 
72, F. & A. M. He is one of the highly esteemed and undoubtedly successful 
physicians of Beaver Dam. He has built up a profitable patronage which ranks 
him among the prominent and representative members of the medical profession 
and he owes his success to his unaided merit. He is a successful physician be- 
cause he is a thoroughly equipped one. He has the foundation of all true pro- 
fessional prosperity — scientific efficiency. 



Dr. A. A. Hoyer, a well known medical practitioner of Westford, Dodge 
county, was born in Platteville, Wisconsin, in 1879. His father, Rev. E. Hoyer, 
a minister of the Lutheran church, was born in 1853 in Hamburg, Germany, 
and came to America when he was about fifteen years of age, settling in Water- 
town. Here he completed an education begun in Germany in the public schools 
of the city and supplemented this by a course in the Northwestern University. 
• His theological studies were pursued at the St. Louis Theological Seminary and 
he was ordained to the ministry in 1881. His first charge was at Manchester, 
Wisconsin, and from there he removed to Platteville. Eventually he accepted 
a charge at West Bend and has made that city his home since that time. He 
married Miss Mary Keissel, who was born in Maryland in 1859, a daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. M. Keissel, of that state. She was educated in the public schools 
of her native section and at the Northwestern University at Watertown. Rev. 
and Mrs. Hoyer became the parents of nine children. A. A. Hoyer, the subject 
of this review, is the eldest. Elsie, born in 1881, is residing at home. Walter, 
born in 1883, is married and lives in North Yakima, Washington. Agnes, born 



A. A. HOYER. M. D. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



239 



in 1884, lives at home. Ruth, born in 1886, is a trained nurse by profession and 
resides at Evanston, Illinois. Irene, born in 1887, is a civil service teacher at 
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and holds her position under the United States 
government. George, born in 1890, is pursuing the medical course in the North- 
western University at Chicago, Illinois, being now in his sophomore year. Regi- 
nald, born in 1892, is studying pharmacy at West Bend, where he is employed 
as clerk in a drug store. Edward, who completes the family, was born in 
1895 and is a student in the high school at West Bend. 

A. A. Hoyer was still a child when his father removed from Platteville to 
West Bend and his early education was received in the public schools of that 
city. He is a graduate of the West Bend high school and afterward attended 
Marquette University at Milwaukee, from which institution he received his 
degree of M. D. in 1906. He located immediately in Randolph and from the 
very beginning his success has been unusual, he having in six years built up an 
enviable and profitable practice as a physician and surgeon. His skill in diagnosing 
diseases and in the application of remedies is widely recognized and he com- 
mands the respect and esteem of his patients, fellow citizens and members of 
the medical fraternity. 

In 1910 Dr. Hoyer was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Jones, a daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Jones, of Gomer, Ohio, and a graduate of Northern 
University at Ada, in the same state. To Dr. and Mrs. Hoyer has been born a 
son, Edward Charles, whose birth occurred in October, 191 1. They belong to 
the Lutheran church. Dr. Hoyer is a member of the County, State and American 
Medical Societies and in his social and professional life is recognized as a man 
of genuine personal worth, who has won the respect and esteem of all with 
whom he comes in contact. 



HENRY S. GILMORE. 

The activities which have marked the career of Henry S. Gilmore include 
his connection with many different phases of life in Dodge county. He is 
well known in fraternal circles and has figured prominently in county and state 
politics. He has also been an important force in the agricultural development 
of his section although he has now definitely retired from this field of activity. 
He is residing in Beaver Dam and is well known in this city as a man who will 
always cooperate in promoting the progress and welfare of his community. He 
was born in Yorkville, Racine county, Wisconsin, November 14, 1848, and is 
a son of David S. and Lorena S. (Goff) Gilmore. His father was born Septem- 
ber 22, 1817, and came to Wisconsin from Ohio in 1839. He was a successful 
agriculturist and when he moved to Racine county in 1855, he engaged in this 
line of occupation with increasing success until his death on July 1, 1873. He 
became prominently connected with republican politics in the section in which 
he settled and served as county treasurer of Racine county and later as jus- 
tice of the peace in Dodge county with much energy and success. While he was 
a resident of Ohio he belonged to the state militia. His wife, who in her 

maidenhood was Miss Lorena S. Goff, was born on the 16th of September, 1820. 
•ml n-n 



240 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Their marriage occurred in Yorkville, Racine county, on May 31, 1846. Mrs. 
Gilmore survived her husband until 1880, her death occurring on the 10th of 
February in that year. They were the parents of two children: Henry S., 
the subject of this sketch ; and Sophia, now Mrs. James H. Waddell, of Golden- 
dale, Washington. 

Henry S. Gilmore was reared at home and received his education in the 
public schools of Dodge county. He attended Wayland Academy and took a 
business course in the Spencerian College of Milwaukee. At the age of twenty- 
four years he engaged in agricultural pursuits, continuing therein until 1882. 
In that year he returned to Beaver Dam and has been prominent in many lines 
of activity in this city since that time. At one period in his career he operated 
a large wheat farm in North Dakota and another agricultural enterprise in 
Dodge county. He has now definitely retired from active farm work, abandon- 
ing this phase of his career in 1910. At the present time he is chiefly interested 
in local politics, voting the democratic ticket. For four years, from 1894 to 
1898 he was a member of the Wisconsin state legislature and was noted for his 
constructive and energetic work in the interests of good government. He has 
the record of six years' service as mayor of Beaver Dam. He served from 
1897 *to 1898 in this capacity and then with the interruption of four years 
held the office continuously from 1902 to 1905. His public career has been dis- 
tinguished by strict conscientiousness and his policy of expansion which always 
has for its dominating factor the welfare and interests of Beaver Dam and 
Dodge county. For several years Mr. Gilmore was a member of the county 
board and is now acting as president of the board of trustees of the Dodge 
County Insane Asylum. He is president of the fire and police commission of 
Beaver Dam and is doing efficient and useful work in this capacity. 

On October 6, 1875, Mr Gilmore was united in marriage to Miss Ella E. 
Curtis, a daughter of George W. and Isabel Curtis of Calamus, Dodge county, 
Wisconsin. Mrs. Gilmore's grandparents on the maternal side were Sam and 
Fannie Sunderland. The wife of our subject is one of seven children, all of 
whom were born in England and six of whom came to America in 1850 and located 
in Beaver Dam, these being Walter, George, Joseph, William and Fannie. Maria 
is still in England. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore have six children. The eldest is 
Phoebe A., who was a teacher of drawing for five years in the Beaver Dam 
high school before she married Frank Hyde of Appleton, Wisconsin, by whom 
she has four children: Genevieve; Donald and Douglas, twins; and Marion. 
Dora E. is a graduate of Dickson College, Illinois, where she took a special 
course in stenography and drawing. She taught school for five years in La 
Salle, Illinois, where she was connected with the high school. She later mar- 
ried Walter R. Clough, of Milledgeville, Illinois, by whom she has one son, 
Howard. George II., the eldest son born to Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore spent two 
years at the university in Appleton, Wisconsin, and taught for three years 
in Illinois. He later went to North Dakota and was for three years county su- 
perintendent of schools. He also acted as clerk of his township and brought 
to his political life high ideals of personal responsibility. He became identi- 
fied with business interests in North Dakota and as president of the Farmers 
Elevator Company of Griffin was well known as an able executive. He mar- 
ried Miss Floy McLean of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and lias one child, Lois. Belle 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



241 



G. was a teacher in the public schools of Beaver Dam for four years previ- 
ous to her marriage to Earl Phelps, of Duluth, Minnesota. The other two chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore are : Charles C, living in Beaver Dam, and 
EUiott, who is attending the high school at Beaver Dam and makes his home with 
his parents. 

Fraternally Mr. Gilmore is prominent in the affairs of the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows and at different times has served as noble grand of the 
Beaver Dam branch of that organization. He is a successful and thoroughly 
practical man, one who can make his influence felt in high circles in his com- 
munity and who leaves upon all the work which he does the impress of an 
honorable and courageous personality. 



FERDINAND F. L. LINDEMAN. 

Ferdinand F. L. Lindeman is carrying on general farming upon one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land in Dodge county near Juneau and is numbered 
among the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of his section. He was 
born in Ashford township, Fond du Lac county, May 20, 1864, a son of Chris- 
tian and Wilhelmina (Stoltzman) Lindeman, natives of Brandenburg, Germany. 
Their marriage occurred in the fatherland and they crossed the Atlantic to 
America in 1856, locating in New York state. About four years later they came 
to Wisconsin, settling in Juneau, where they remained only a short time. The 
father was a brickmaker by trade and made the first brick in Juneau. Later he 
went to Fond du Lac county and began general farming, residing in that section 
until 1868, when he came to Dodge county and settled on the farm now owned 
by the subject of this review. This property he operated and improved until 
about the year 1894, when he retired from active life and moved to Fond du 
I,ac, returning to Juneau after one year. Here he died in 1906, having sur- 
vived his wife for several years. He was prominent and active in local affairs 
and held various public offices, including that of township treasurer. In 1864 
he was appointed by the government as drafter for Ashford township and served 
ably and well in this position. 

Ferdinand Lindeman was educated in the public schools of Oak Grove town- 
ship and in the private German school at Juneau. He remained at home until 
he was twenty-seven years of age and then rented his father's farm. After 
three years he bought this property which comprises one hundred and sixty 
acres of productive land and has since carried on the work of development 
along progressive, modern lines. He made a number of improvements on his 
farm since it came into his possession, and he has cleared and delevoped an 
additional forty acres and has all of the land in an excellent condition. He 
does general farming and stock-raising and is numbered among the substantial 
and successful men of his section. The management and operation of his 
farm, however, is by no means his only interest. He is an important figure in 
business circles of his section and is a stockholder in the Auto Truck factory 
at Juneau, and also in the Milwaukee, Western Interurban line, which is to 



242 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



operate between Milwaukee and Juneau. He has also invested judiciously in 
Wisconsin real estate and owns valuable tracts of land in different counties. 

On March 31, 1891, Mr. Lindeman was united in marriage to Miss Helena 
Zepp, who was born in Lowell township, February 14, 1868, a daughter of 
Jacob and Margaret (Frey) Zepp, natives of Germany. Her father came to 
America in his early years and settled with his parents in Washington county 
where for some time he worked in the employ of others. Later he became an 
extensive owner of farm lands in this county. He was prominent in local poli- 
tics, serving as chairman of Lowell township for several terms. When a resi- 
dent of Beaver Dam he was a member of the city council and did able and 
efficient work in various other important offices. He died in 1901 and his wife 
survived him until 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Lindeman have ten children: Amanda, 
who was born February 25, 1892, and who resides at home ; Ferdinand, Jr., 
born July 16, 1894; John, born May 3, 1896; Edward, whose birth occurred 
April 6, 1898; Helena, who died in infancy; Welda, born January 22, 1900; 
Elmer, born March 27, 1903 ; Celia, born June 20, 1905 ; Edna, born March 23, 
1908; and Hilda, whose birth occurred October 2, 191 1. The family are mem- 
bers of the German Reformed church. 

Mr. Lindeman gives his allegiance to the democratic party and at the present 
time is serving his sixth term as chairman of Oak Grove township. In 1898 
he was township treasurer and served one term and was for fourteen years a 
member of the school board. He was also clerk of this organization for four- 
teen years, although he did not serve consecutively, and did able and conscien- 
tious work in this capacity. He is well known in business circles of Juneau and 
as treasurer of the Wisconsin Hail & Cyclone Insurance Company and director 
of the bank at Juneau has made his influence felt in both organizations. In 
all affairs, in which he is interested and active he has won success, by reason of 
his progressive methods and his honorable business standards, which rank him 
among the able agriculturists of the section and among Dodge county's most 
valued and enterprising citizens. 



PAUL B. HERKER. 

Paul B. Herkcr devotes practically his entire time and attention to the con- 
duct of a large fire insurance agency in Horicon, his native city, handling the 
business of several leading American companies and has achieved prosperity in 
this line by reason of his business ability directed for many years along this 
line. He was born February 28, 1876, in the village in which he now resides, a 
son of Charles and Emma (Franke) Herker, natives of Germany. The father 
was born November 27, 1842, and the mother in 1852. Charles Herker crossed 
the Atlantic to America when he was about seventeen years of age and settled in 
Wisconsin near Mayville, where he became well known in agricultural circles. 
He left his farm in that section in 1873 and came to Horicon. where for several 
years he operated a saloon. Afterward he conducted a windmill factory but 
disposed of this enterprise in order to identify himself with the fire insurance 
business in which he was active until the time of his death which occurred 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



243 



November 25, 191 1. He was well known in local politics and served for eight 
years as city treasurer, discharging his duties ably and conscientiously and gain- 
ing recognition as an honest and upright public official. He and his wife were 
the parents of five children: Roland, deceased; one who died in infancy; Paul 
B., of this review ; Otelia, the wife of Otto C. Lehman, who is engaged in the 
restaurant business in Horicon ; and Gustav, who is engaged in the saloon busi- 
ness in Horicon. 

Paul Herker received his education in the public schools of Horicon. After 
he had completed his studies at the age of sixteen years he worked in a hard- 
ware store for six years and then learned the turner's trade. He afterward 
conducted a saloon in Horicon for twelve years, abandoning this enterprise in 
order to give his attention to the management of a hardware store which he 
purchased. In this line of activity he continued for one year and then disposed 
of his interests and took up fire insurance, having one of the important agencies 
in Dodge county. He has made a comfortable fortune which he has invested 
judiciously in local enterprises, owning a fine business building and a valuable 
lot next to the postoffice in Horicon. In 191 1 he completed a modern and up- 
to-date residence on Walnut street in which he resides and in which he has his 
office. 

Mr. Herker married December 3, 1907, Miss Louisa Lehman, who was born 
in Ashippun township, December 26, 1875, a daughter of Ludwig and Henrietta 
(Thieman) Lehman, natives of Germany, who were early settlers in Dodge 
county. The father followed farming in Ashippun township and was an ex- 
tensive land owner at the time of his death which occurred about the year 1904. 
His wife survives and makes her home in Neosho. In their family were five 
children, of whom Mrs. Herker is the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Herker have two 
sons: Leonard, who was born November 11, 1909; and Arnold, whose birth 
occurred on the 1st of June, 191 1. 

Mr. Herker gives a general allegiance to the republican party but in local 
affairs votes for the man whom he considers best fitted for the position. He 
was elected city treasurer in 1912 and is discharging his duties ably and con- 
scientiously. He has many friends in Horicon and is a prominent figure in its 
business and social life, having gained a success while still a young man which 
is generally associated with a long period of activity. 



LEWIS OWENS. 

Lewis Owens, who has been a resident of Dodge county since his birth, has 
devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire career 
and is owner of an excellent farm of ninety-five acres in Hubbard township. 
His birth occurred upon his father's homestead in this section, April 12, 1859, 
his parents being Hugh and Carolina (Albert) Owens. His father was born in 
Wales in 181 2 and came to America in his early days and worked at farming 
until his death in 1884. The mother of our subject is a native of Saxony, Ger- 
many, where she was born in 1838. She still survives her husband. 



244 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



In the acquirement of an education Lewis Owens attended the common 
schools at Iron Ridge and remained with his parents until he was twenty years 
of age, aiding in the work of the farm. When he began his independent career 
he purchased from his father the ninety-five acres which constitute his present 
farm. As the years have gone by he has steadily carried forward the work of 
development, making many substantial improvements. In connection with tilling 
the soil he makes a specialty of raising sheep and gives a great deal of his time 
to the conduct of his dairy, keeping a fine herd of graded Holstein cows for 
this purpose. His various interests return him a gratifying income, for Mr. 
Owens is a shrewd business man as well as a practical and progressive agricul- 
turist. On December 18, 1884, Mr. Owens married Miss Louisa Matthes, who 
was born in Dodge county, January 21, 1863, a daughter of Fred and Johanna 
(Degner) Matthes, natives of Germany. Her father was born in the district 
of the Oderbruk, June 21, 1830, and resides in Horicon. His wife's birth oc- 
curred December 3, 1839, and she died in Woodland, Dodge county, in 1881. 
Mr. and Mrs. Owens have three children: Mata, who married Robert Arm- 
strong, of Milwaukee ; Nora, who lives at home ; and Hugo, who resides in the 
northern part of the state. The family are members of the Methodist church. 
Mr. Owens belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and in politics is a 
republican, supporting men and measures of that party. His business interests 
have been carefully conducted, his duties of citizenship capably performed and 
at all times he has been true to the obligations and responsibilities which have 
developed upon him in every relation of life, so that he is regarded as one of the 
worthy and representative residents of his community. 



One of the most enterprising, representative and successful young business 
men of Minnesota Junction is Robert H. Polzin, who owns a half-interest in 
the Minnesota Junction Creamery, one of the most important enterprises of its 
kind in this section, and who is influencing its growth and development by his 
progressive methods, his energy and his business ability. He was earning his 
own livelihood when he was fourteen years of age and this early training in 
independence and initiative has made him successful in business at an age when 
most young men have scarcely begun their active career. He is a native son 
Wisconsin and was born near Watertown. October 12, 1888. His parents, God- 
fried and Augusta (Radig) Polzin, were natives of Germany. They came to 
America in their early lives and settled immediately near Watertown, where the 
father purchased land upon which he is still residing. He has extensive property 
interests in this vicinity and is one of the representative citizens of the district. 
He was twice married. By his first union he had four children, while he and his 
second wife became the parents of seven, of whom our subject is the fourth in 
order of birth. 

After completing his preliminary education in the public schools near Water- 
town, Robert Polzin entered the Northwestern University in the same city and 
upon completing his course studied in the Milwaukee Business College for some 



ROBERT H. POLZIN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



time. He began his active career, however, when he was fourteen years of age, 
working as a farm hand in the summer months and gaining enough money in 
this way to pay for his education during the winter. When he was nineteen 
years of age he obtained employment in a creamery in Berlin, where he remained 
for eighteen months, when he went to Lake Mills and was there employed in a 
similar enterprise. He then invested the money he had saved in a half-interest 
in the Minnesota Junction Creamery and has been identified with the manage- 
ment of this concern in partnership with H. J. Grell since that time The firm 
makes a specialty of Rose Leaf butter and cottage cheese, supplying the local 
markets with these commodities and also shipping to different parts of the 
country. The business has expanded rapidly as the pure and wholesome qual- 
ities of the products manufactured have become known and it is now a large and 
rapidly growing institution, operated along systematic and progressive lines. 
Mr. Polzin gives much of his time and attention to its management, Mr. Grell 
being identified with other important business enterprises, prominent among 
which may be mentioned the Butter & Egg Company of Johnston's Creek. He 
is also in partnership with Mr. Polzin interested in a moving picture theater in 
Juneau, which nets them gratifying financial returns, 

On November 4, 1908, Mr. Polzin was united in marriage to Miss Lydia 
Bloch, who was born near Berlin, Wisconsin, October 16, 1888, a daughter of 
William and Mary (Leppert) Bloch, natives of Germany, in which country the 
mother passed away. The father came to this section about 1898 and settled on 
a farm near Berlin, where he and his second wife reside. He had three children 
by his first marriage and five by his second union. To Mr. and Mrs. Polzin 
has been born a son, Melvin, whose natal day was November 3, 1911. 

Mr. Polzin does not ally himself with any political party, voting for the 
man whom he considers best fitted for the position. He is a member of the 
Lutheran church. He is a fine type of the modern young business man, forceful, 
enterprising and progressive, and in the four years of his connection with his 
present enterprise, has made it one of the important concerns in the county. At 
twenty-four he stands still at the beginning of his career which is a pleasant 
indication of a prosperous future. 



WILLIAM J. WEGENER. 

William J. Wegener is engaged in the commission business, conducting an 
enterprise of this kind in Minnesota Junction, and he also gives much of his 
time to the development of a thirty-acre tract of land, which he operates as a 
truck and berry farm. He is a skillful and practical agriculturist, having learned 
the details of this occupation as a boy upon his father's farm, and is guided by 
business ability of no mean order, making him successful in his chosen line of 
work, He is 'a native son of Dodge county, born in Theresa township, August 
7, 1866, a son of William and Augusta (Knoll) Wegener, both born near Ber- 
lin, Germany. His father was a farmer in his native country and followed 
that occupation after he came to America in May, 1866, carrying on agricultural 
pursuits until his death, which occurred in September. 1867, one year after 



246 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



his arrival in Wisconsin. After his demise his wife resided for three years in 
Theresa and then moved to Horicon, where she remained for fifteen years. At 
the end of that time she purchased a small farm near Minnesota Junction and 
resided upon this property for fourteen years, until she moved into the village, 
where she died January 26, 191 1. 

After completing his education in the public and German schools of Hori- 
con, William J. Wegener worked upon neighboring farms until he was eighteen 
years of age. He then obtained a position in a wholesale grocery in Milwaukee 
and after a year and a half in this capacity his health failed and he was obliged 
to resign. In order to recuperate he worked upon a farm in the summer months 
for the following four years, engaging in the commission business during the 
winters. When he had fully recovered his health he established himself in the 
commission business in partnership with John Krause, at Minnesota Junction, 
and two years later purchased his partner's interests and has since conducted 
the enterprise alone. For seven years he also acted in the interests of the Stand- 
ard Oil Company and then took over the agency for the Valvoline Oil Com- 
pany, a connection which he has continued to the present time. He gives much 
of his time and attention to the operation of a thirty acre farm planted in garden 
truck and berries and also in grain, with which he feeds his three teams of 
horses. In his farming operations he has been active and energetic, his labor 
resulting in gratifying success. He keeps two men upon his property the year 
round and during the winter months when his poultry must be dressed and 
shipped he sometimes employs over fifteen laborers. He supplies a fine grade 
of dressed veal to Swift & Company and to the George F. Henrichs Company, 
of New York City, and his markets are rapidly extending their limits as the 
quality of his products becomes more widely known. 

On October 1, 1895, Mr. Wegener was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie 
M. Friend, born in Williamstown township, near Mayville, November 28, 1869, 
a daughter of George and Maria (Rabach) Friend, natives of Germany. Her 
father was born in 1844 and when he was four years of age came to America 
with his parents, settling on a farm near Mayville upon which he grew to 
maturity. Later he moved to the vicinity of Juneau where he owned a valuable 
tract of land which he cultivated until his death, July 10, 1897. His wife still 
resides upon the homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Wegener became the parents of 
eight children: Emma, who was born May 12, 1896, and who is a student in the 
Horicon high school ; Elizabeth, born November 5, 1897, also at school in Hori- 
con ; George, who was born August 22, 1901 ; Charles and William, twins, 
whose births occurred February 3, 1904; Walter, who passed away at the age 
of three years ; Mary, who died at the age of eighteen months ; and Dorothy, 
whose birth occurred December 21. 191 1. The family are members of the 
Lutheran church. 

Mr. Wegener gives his allegiance to the republican party and has served 
his fellow citizen? in various offices, including those of supervisor and town- 
ship clerk. He held the former position for two years, and the latter for six, 
doing able and conscientious work in both capacities. Fraternally he belongs to 
the Order of Beavers and the Modern Woodmen of America at Juneau and 
is active in the affairs of the Horicon Lodge, Fraternal Order of Eagles. He 
is one of the representative business men of Minnesota Junction and has been 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



connected with the operation of his present enterprise for a number of years. 
He has been successful both as a farmer and a commission merchant and is 
well and favorably known in the district where he is recognized as a man of 
honorable and straightforward standards and unusual business intelligence. 



CARL WALTER SCHLAEBITZ. 

Carl Walter Schlaebitz has lived in Beaver Dam for thirty-one years, having 
made this city his home upon his arrival in America from his native country, 
Germany. He is prominent in the general contracting business with which he 
became identified in 1896 and by insight, efficiency and sagacity has built up 
an enterprise along this line which makes him an important factor in business 
circles of the city. He was born July 16, 1854, in Calbe, Province of Saxony, 
Germany, a son of Carl and Johanna (Graefe) Schlaebitz, who lived and died 
in the fatherland. 

Carl W. Schlaebitz is the fourth in a family of five children. He attended 
the public schools of his native country and lived at home until 1873 m which 
year his father passed away, his mother having died January 20, 1871. He 
remained in Germany until 1881, coming in that year to America and settling 
immediately in Beaver Dam. From 1881 to 1896 he worked at the carpenter's 
trade and in the latter year established himself in the general contracting busi- 
ness, the growth of which has made him one of the prosperous and prominent 
men of the city, its success being due to his able management. 

On December 18, 1883, Mr. Schlaebitz was united in marriage to Miss Hen- 
rietta Gallun, whose birth occurred in 'Holstein, Germany, October 4, 1841. 
Mrs. Schlaebitz was the youngest in a family of six children. She died in 
Beaver Dam, February 10, 1912, and is buried in Oakwood cemetery. 

Mr. Schlaebitz votes the democratic ticket and has for many years been 
active in local affairs. For five years he served as alderman of the first ward 
and was reelected in the spring of 1912, for a term of two years. He does not 
hold membership in any religious organization but was reared in the German 
Lutheran church. He has invested his money judiciously, owning property on 
Hashel and Beaver streets and also a one hundred and sixty acre farm in North 
Dakota. His residence is located at No. 205 South Center street and he has 
won many friends in this city by reason of a life which in all of its aspects is 
useful, upright and worthy. 



EDWARD F. GUENTHER. 

Edward F. Guenther is conducting a livery in Juneau and in five years has 
built up a flourishing and prosperous business and gained for himself an im- 
portant place in the commercial life of the village. He was born in Lowell, 
Dodge county, February 28, 1876. a son of William F. and Amelia (Zinke) 
Guenther, natives of Saxony, Germany. The father came to America in the early 



24fl 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



'40s, settling in Milwaukee, where he worked as a blacksmith for some time. 
Coming to Clyman township, he purchased land and operated his farm for a 
number of years and upon it resided until he came to Lowell township, where he 
followed agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1896. He was 
well known in local political circles and for two years served as township treas- 
urer, discharging his duties ably and efficiently. His wife survived him for 
two years, dying in 1898. 

Edward Guenther is the youngest in a family of six children. He attended 
school in Lowell township and completed his studies in the Lowell village school. 
When he was twenty-one years of age he purchased land in his native section 
and began farming upon his property, improving and developing it for ten 
years. At the expiration of that time he disposed of his holdings and came to 
Juneau, where he engaged in the livery business, keeping fine horses and auto- 
mobiles for this purpose. He is a stockholder in the auto truck factory at 
Juneau and prominent in various other local enterprises. 

On January 5, 1898, Mr. Guenther was united in marriage to Miss Tillie 
Wirth, who was born in Hubbleton, Jefferson county, March 29, 1877, a daugh- 
ter of Michael and Dorothy Albright (Luckow) Wirth, natives of Pomerania, 
Germany, who came to America in the early '50s, settling immediately in Jeffer- 
son county. Here the father followed the trade of carpenter for some time 
and later engaged in farming, purchasing tracts of land in different parts of the 
district and becoming an extensive property owner. He still resides on his farm 
in Hubbleton township. His wife who had been married previous to her union 
to Mr. Wirth, died in 1907. They were the parents of five children, of whom 
Mrs. Guenther is the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Guenther have two children: 
Gladys Evelyn, born July 26, 1900; and Claude Gilbert, whose birth occurred 
on the 6th of October, 1907. 

Mr. Guenther is a consistent democrat but has never sought public office. 
He belongs to the German Reformed church, and is active in the affairs of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He gives most of his attention, however, to 
the conduct of his business and has met with well deserved success in this 
line, which he enjoys as a natural result of his well directed labors. 



HERMAN BILGRIEN'. 

Among the men who are shaping business and agricultural development in 
Dodge county is Herman Bilgrien, who since the beginning of his career has 
been connected with various industries in Hubbard township, his native section. 
Throughout the entire period his influence has been constantly upon the side 
of progress and advancement and at the present time his prosperity is regarded 
as a public resource. Mr. Bilgrien was born March 19, 1864. and is a son of 
John and Wilhelmina (Loppnow) Bilgrien, natives of Germany, both of whom 
have passed away. 

Herman Bilgrien was educated in the public and German schools of Hub- 
bard township and after laying aside his books worked for his father until 
after the latter's death, and during this time added to his activities the duties 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



24 9 



connected with the operation of four large cheese factories. This interest he 
has carried forward into his later life and for a number of years has been con- 
nected with various concerns of a similar kind throughout Dodge county. 
For about eight years he has been in business in Iron Ridge, where he conducted 
a meat market and saloon, but has of late discontinued the meat market. For 
the last fifteen years he has been well known in insurance circles, doing a large 
business along this line. Aside from this, however, his interest centers in the 
operation of his farm and in stock-raising, to which he is giving special atten- 
tion, making some valuable experiments in the feeding of hogs with a view to 
obtain statistics as to which foods give the best results. He is interested in 
breeding cattle and has fine herds of full-blooded Holsteins, some of which he 
ships and sells in the markets. 

Mr. Bilgricn married November 6, 1890, Miss Elizabeth Indermuehle, whose 
birth occurred in Switzerland, November 30, 1867. Her father, Christian Inder- 
muehle, died in his native country but her mother, who was in her maidenhood 
Miss Elizabeth Baerschy, came to America and died in Woodland, Dodge county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bilgrien became the parents of thirteen children, of whom Herbert, 
Mollie, Alma and Walter arc deceased. Those living in 1912 arc: Lillie, who is 
twenty years of age; Harry, nineteen; Armin, seventeen; Hilda, sixteen; John, 
fourteen ; Lizzie, thirteen ; Cora, eight ; Marcella, six ; and Herman, four. The 
family are members of the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Bilgrien is in sympathy with the principles of the democratic party and 
has been honored by election to public office by the people of his county and 
has discharged his official duties with fidelity and promptness. For one term 
he was township treasurer, for two years afterward served as treasurer of Dodge 
county, and at the present time is acting as chairman of the board of Hubbard 
township. He is a member of the Farmer's Union, of which he acts as shipper 
at Iron Ridge. He has never hesitated to assert his rights when he felt that a 
(|uestion of justice was involved and has appeared before the circuit and supreme 
courts in important cases involving large milk dealers. He keeps well informed 
upon the general events of the day and has always been alive to the progress 
of the county in which he was born and in which his deepest interest is centered. 
He is easily among the leaders in anything he desires to undertake, for men of 
his class influence the progress and advancement of any community. 



WILLIAM FREDRICK. 

William Fredrick, conducting a retail hardware store in Iron Ridge, was 
born in Hubbard township, July 5, 1886, a son of Gustav and Gusta (Klemp) 
Fredrick, natives of Germany. His father came to America with his parents 
when he was only two years of age and grew to manhood upon a farm in 
Hubbard township Later he became an extensive property owner and a pros- 
perous farmer, following agricultural pursuits in this section until 1003, when 
he moved to Iron Ridge where he is now living retired. He and his wife have 
two children: Minnie, who married Otto Boeder, a farmer of Hubbard town- 
ship; and William, the subject of this review 



250 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



After completing his education in the public and German schools at Iron 
Mountain, William Fredrick aided his father in the work of the farm until he 
was twenty years of age and then went to Iron Ridge, where he established him- 
self in the retail hardware business and has retained his connection with this 
line since that time. He carries a modern stock, complete in all its lines and his 
business ability and progressive methods have brought him a large patronage, 
which has increased steadily year by year, as the quality of his goods and his 
upright business methods have become more widely known. He has recently 
added a plumbing department and gives much of his time to this branch of 
his business, doing general plumbing and specializing in the installation of 
heating plants. He keeps in touch with modern business conditions as they 
affect his line of work by retaining an active connection with the Wisconsin Re- 
toil Hardware Association, in which body he is prominent and well known. He 
gives his allegiance to no particular party, preferring to keep independent. He 
is a member of the Lutheran church. Still too young to have accomplished a 
decided success, he has founded a business which he conducts along lines of 
expansion, making it one of the flourishing commercial enterprises in the vil- 
lage and has acquired a position in business circles which is a fair indication of 
future attainment. 



Dr. Enoch P. Webb has been practicing medicine in Beaver Dam since 
1897 with gratifying and well deserved success. He was born on February 4, 
1871, in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. His parents were William and Hcph- 
zibah (Palmer) Webb, the former a native of Genesee county, New York, and 
the latter of New Brunswick. The father was born February 24, 1819, and set- 
tled in Adams county, Wisconsin, where he remained for several years before 
he went to Fond du Lac county. He had been a school teacher in Canada for 
eight years prior to his removal west but abandoned that line of occupation in 
order to engage in the mercantile business which was a profitable source of in- 
come to him for twenty-five years. In 1889 he bought land in Beaver Dam in 
the outskirts of the town. He was a republican in his political views and served 
for several years as town clerk. He died on March 10, 1904. I lis wife is 
still living and makes her home with her son, Enoch P. Webb. 

Dr. Webb was educated in the public schools and was graduated from Way- 
land Academy in 1892. He received his medical instruction in Rush Medical 
College in Chicago, obtaining his degree in 1897. He located immediately for 
practice in Beaver Dam, establishing his offide here on June I, 1897. He has 
met with increasing and gratifying success and has built up a large and growing 
practice. He is thoroughly and efficiently equipped in all the modern develop- 
ments of the medical science and is an able physician. 

On the 1 8th of May, 1904, Dr. Webb was united in marriage to Miss Nellie 
Palmer, whose birth occurred on the nth of March, 1880. She is a daughter 
of Edwin C. Palmer. 



ENOCH P. WEBB, M. D. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



251 



Dr. Webb is independent in politics. He served from 1898 to 1899 as city 
physician and did able and constructive work in this capacity. He is interested 
in the cause of education and was school commissioner for two years. He 
affiliates with the Baptist church. His practice is carried on carefully and scien- 
tifically and is increasing every year. He keeps in touch with developments 
and discoveries in the world of medical science and interchanges thoughts and 
ideas along these subjects with his colleagues as member of the Dodge County 
and Wisconsin Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. Dr. 
Webb is a physician of the present-day school, conscientious and thoroughly 
conversant with the many intricate details connected with his profession. 



WILLIAM KRUEGER. 

William Kruegcr is living retired in his pleasant home in Iron Ridge after 
an active and useful life spent in farming. For thirty-six years he developed and 
cultivated a fine tract of one hundred and sixty acres, operating and improving 
this property along progressive lines, making it one of the valuable farms in the 
district. The land is now owned by his son, who is carrying on the work of 
development, William Krueger retaining only forty acres of the homestead. 
He is a native of Dodge county, born in Lebanon township, May 7, 1859, a son 
of Fred and Paulina (Gentz) Krueger, natives of Germany, where the father 
was born on the 28th of April, 1827, and the mother, January 9, 1829. Fred 
Krueger came to America about 1850, settling immediately in Watertown, where 
he followed his trade of wagon-maker for more than two years. Afterward 
he purchased land in Lebanon township and began its improvement and devel- 
opment. By hard work, and well directed ambition, he made this property one 
of the most highly developed in the district and still resides upon it. He and his 
wife are both active and hearty and have many friends in Lebanon township 
where they have resided for over fifty years. In his younger days Fred Krueger 
took an active part in local politics and held various public offices, serving with 
ability and efficiency in the interests of his fellow citizens. 

William Krueger is the second in a family of seven children. After com- 
pleting his education in the district and German schools of Lebanon township 
he aided his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-three years of 
age. Thus he became at an early period acquainted by personal experience with 
the best methods of tilling the soil and the most modern ideas and standards of 
operation. When he was twenty-three years old he purchased a farm two miles 
east of Iron Ridge and began the cultivation of one hundred and sixty acres of 
fertile land. He soon brought his property to an excellent condition and re- 
mained upon it until 1009, when he sold one hundred and twenty acres to his 
son, retaining for himself forty acres of the homestead. He moved to Iron 
Ridge and purchased a comfortable home in which he is now living retired. He 
has many friends in Iron Ridge who respect and esteem him for the honorable 
and upright business policies which he has always advocated and for his 
worth and character. 



252 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On February u, 1883, Mr. Kruegcr was united in marriage to Mrs. Louisa 
Boeder, who was born in Mayville, March 3, i860, a daughter of Michael Al- 
brecht, and the widow of Frank Boeder, of Herman township. Her father was 
a native of Germany and came to Wisconsin in his early life, settling in May- 
ville. For some time he worked as a blacksmith but later purchased land, upon 
which he carried on farming until his death. His wife has also passed away. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Krueger have been born four children: Edwin, deceased; 
Arthur, who resides on the homestead, and who married Miss Martha Westfall, 
of Herman township ; William, who is a photographer in Hustisf ord ; and Edna, 
who is attending school. Mrs. Krueger, by her former marriage had one son, 
Robert, who is farming in Herman township. 

In his political views Mr. Krueger is independent of party lines, voting for 
the man whom he considers best fitted for the position. He is actively inter- 
ested in the affairs of his section, but has never sought public office. He is one 
of the native sons of Dodge county, whose career is a credit to the community. 
In the many years of his residence here he has witnessed the changes and the 
evolution which almost forty years have made in his district and he himself by 
well directed labors has been a force for good in promoting development. He 
has been a capable, enterprising and progressive agriculturist and is now living 
retired in Iron Ridge. With him retirement has meant only a slackening of 
the most arduous duties of life without lessening the breadth of his interests, or 
the alertness and activity of his mind. 



JOSEPH N. HINKES. 

Joseph N. Hinkes is proprietor of the Milwaukee Hotel in Beaver Dam and 
is well known in local business and political circles. He is a native son of Dodge 
county, having been born in Leroy, on the 17th of March, 1871, a son of Peter 
and Elizabeth (Heins) Hinkes, natives of Germany, who came to America in 
1846, settling in Chicago. Here they remained until 1852, in which year they 
came to Leroy, where they now reside. 

Joseph N. Hinkes was the sixth in a family of ten children. He received his 
education in the public and parochial schools of his native city and remained 
with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. When he had attained 
his majority he went to Lomira township where he purchased sixty-five acres of 
land which he operated and developed for seven years, selling it in 1899 and buy- 
ing one hundred and twenty acres in Marathon county. Upon this property he 
lived for six months disposing of the farm at the end of that time in order to go 
to Knowles, where he established himself in the saloon business. After two years 
he went to Minnesota Junction where he conducted a similar enterprise for five 
years after which he went to Juneau. Here for one and one-half years he ran a 
saloon but abandoned this and since that time has been proprietor and manager 
of the Milwaukee Hotel in Beaver Dam. He has built up a prosperous business 
by constant attention to its management and consideration of the comforts ind 
conveniences of his guests. He has gained success by earnest and well directed 
labor and is ranked among the enterprising business men of Beaver Dam. 



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On September 8, 1892, Mr. Hinkes was united in marriage to Miss Clara 
Heimerl, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Waas) Heimerl. She was the second 
in a family of twelve children and was born in Lomira, April 15, 1870. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hinkes have six children : Paula, the wife of Fay Ellis, who is engaged in 
farming in Wcstford, and by whom she has one child; Rose, Alvin, Joseph, and 
George, all of whom reside at home; and Gilbert. All the children received their 
education in the public schools of Dodge county. The family belongs to St. 
Peter's Roman Catholic church. 

In his political views Mr. Hinkes is consistently democratic and has always 
been active in local affairs. He was treasurer of the town of Leroy in 1904 and 
in 1910 was a candidate for the office of sheriff of Dodge county but was defeated 
by a small majority. He is now running for the same office and received the 
nomination in the primaries of September 3, 1912, which makes him practically 
sure of election. He has always maintained in his political life the same high 
standards of honor and integrity which have made his business 



JOHN BODDEN. 

John Bodden, treasurer of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, is prom- 
inent in political and business circles of Horicon, where he has resided for over 
twenty-five years. He was born in Theresa, October 16, 1862, a son of Jacob 
and Gertrude (Schiefer) Bodden, natives of Germany, born near Cologne. 
They came to Dodge county in 1849 and in this section their marriage occurred. 
Later the father took up government land, clearing a large tract in the northwest 
corner of Washington county, but finding that a part of this property belonged 
to another claim he abandoned his farm and went to Theresa where he cleared 
another tract of land and resided upon it until his death in February, 1889. He 
was prominent in local business affairs and held various important political 
offices, including those of state representative, county treasurer, sheriff, and 
chairman of the board of supervisors. His wife is living in Oshkosh, where she 
makes her home with a daughter. 

John Bodden attended the public schools of Theresa and later took a course 
in the Spencerian Business College at Milwaukee. At the age of sixteen he 
began earning his own livelihood, working as a clerk in a mercantile store in 
Juneau where he remained for seven years, doing such able and systematic work 
that he was finally offered a partnership. In this capacity he engaged in the 
general merchandising business for two years and then came to Horicon where 
he became identified with the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company as assistant 
bookkeeper. His promotion was rapid and after a few years he was given 
charge of the bookkeeping department and was then advanced to the position of 
sales manager, directing in connection with this the collection department. In 
1908 he was made treasurer of the company, in which capacity he is still serving. 
He is well known in the affairs of other important commercial enterprises in 
Horicon, including the Bodden Brothers Lumber Company, of which he is 
president. 



254 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On October 23, 1890, Mr. Boddcn was united in marriage to Miss Jessie L. 
Stacks, who was born in Randolph, Columbia county, June 28, 1866, a daughter 
of John J. and Lydia L. (Simpson) Stacks, the former a native of Brandon, 
Vermont, born May 18, 1839, and the latter of Columbia county, New York, 
born September 28, 1845. Tn e father became a grain dealer in his early life and 
followed that occupation until 1850 when he came west and located in Herman 
township. After some time he went to Iron Ridge, where for several years he 
worked at various occupations, going to Randolph eventually. In that city he 
obtained a position in an elevator owned by Mr. Foster and was later taken into 
partnership with his employer. After seven years he returned to Iron Ridge 
and there engaged in the grain business until he came to Horicon, where his 
death occurred December 20, 1896. His widow makes her home with the sub- 
ject of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Stacks had two children : Jessie L., the wife 
of our subject ; and Warren, who is in the grain business in Milwaukee. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bodden have one daughter, Mildred M., who was born January 1, 
1894, and who lives at home. 

Mr. Bodden gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is prominent in 
local affairs. He has recently resigned after fifteen years' service as chief of 
the Horicon volunteer fire department and has served in various public ca- 
pacities, including those of alderman and supervisor. For two terms he was 
mayor of the village and did much constructive and beneficial work during his 
administration. He is a prominent figure in the affairs of a growing industrial 
institution. He has an important place in business circles of Horicon and he 
fills it ably and with evident success. 



GEORGE BAUER. 

George Bauer is a native of Dodge county and a son of one of its earliest 
pioneers. He is at the present time one of the most progressive, enterprising 
and successful farmers in Trenton township where he has operated an excellent 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 29, for over twenty years. 
He was born November 19, 1855, in Beaver Dam and is a son of Mathias and 
Catherine (Robock) Bauer, natives of Bavaria, Germany, who came to America 
in 1853 a" 0 * settled in Beaver Dam where they resided for two years. Later the 
father bought forty acres of land near Leipsic, and cultivated and improved his 
property until i860, when he sold it and moved to Calamus township where he 
bought one hundred and twenty acres of raw land which he improved and 
developed into an excellent farm. Upon this the family resided until 1870 
when they sold the property and bought eighty acres in Beaver Dam township, 
upon which the father died in 1879. He was survived by his wife until 1901 
and both are buried in St. Peter's cemetery at Beaver Dam. 

George Bauer was the seventh in a family of fifteen children. His early 
childhood was spent upon his father's farm and as a boy he became well 
acquainted with the best methods of tilling and cultivating the soil. After his 
father died he remained with his mother until 1890 when he purchased the 
property upon which he now resides. He does general farming and stock- 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



raising and has every acre of his land under cultivation. He breeds graded 
Holstein cattle, Poland China hogs, and Percheron horses which he feeds with 
the hay and grain raised upon his property. Two fine barns supply shelter for 
all his stock, one thirty-two feet by thirty-six, was remodeled in 1898 and the 
other is entirely new. It has cement floors, patent stanchions and is equipped 
with all modern accessories. Mr. Bauer's dairy forms an important branch of 
his enterprise and for this reason he keeps eighteen high-grade milch cows. He 
manages the farm in an expert way, supplementing his agricultural skill by busi- 
ness ability of a high order, his methods being based upon the strictest principles 
of integrity and he well deserves the position he has gained among the repre- 
sentative citizens of Dodge county. 

In 1886 Mr. Bauer was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Rack, of West- 
ford township, a daughter of John and Josephine Rack. She was the fourth in 
a family of six children and was born on March 16, 1867. She passed away 
on the 1 ith of March, 1897, and is buried in St. Peter's cemetery. To this union 
were born seven children: Mary, who married Paul Warmke, of Freeseland, 
Columbia county, by whom she has two children; Tillie, who teaches school; 
Henry, who lives at home ; Francis, who is also with his parents ; Edward, who 
died in childhood ; and Minnie and Augusta, both of whom live at home. In 
1899 Mr. Bauer was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Rack, a sister of his 
former wife and by her he has two children, Arthur A. and Leonard J. The 
family are members of St. Mary's Catholic church of Fox Lake. 

Mr. Bauer gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is serving as 
chairman of the town board. For four years he held the office of township 
treasurer and for the past fifteen years that of school clerk in which capacity 
he is serving at the present time. He has been identified with agriculture in this 
section for almost a quarter of a century and during that time his activities have 
been along progressive lines, promoting his success and prosperity. 



CLARK W. VOORUS, M. D. 

Dr. Clark W. Voorus is one of the successful and prosperous physicians of 
Beaver Dam and his history has been identified with the early days of the devel- 
opment of this section of the country. He was born in Manlius, Onondaga 
county, New York, on the 7th of April, 1851, and is a son of Hiram and Rocena 
(Larrabee) Voorus. He is of German ancestry. Hiram Voorus settled in 
1854, in Scott, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, and removed to Dodge county in 
1862. He was a farmer and successful in the cultivation of the soil until his 
death at the age of forty-two years. He and his wife were the parents of four 
children : Clark W., the subject of this sketch ; Josephine, now Mrs. Carmichael, 
of Fond du Lac county; Lorctta, now Mrs. Reynolds, who resides in British 
Columbia; and Clara, of Byron township. 

Dr. Voorus was educated in the public schools of Scott, Sheboygan county. 

He was a student in the Lcroy public schools for some time and received his 

medical degree from Rush Medical College, Chicago, graduating in 1877. He 

later took a post-graduate course in special studies, completing his education in 
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1885. He located in Dodge county in 1877 and for ten years was widely known 
in that section as an efficient physician. In 1887 he came to Beaver Dam where 
he is carrying on the general practice of medicine with much success. His 
prosperity has increased yearly and is founded upon systematic and scientific 
methods. 

In 1877, Dr. Voorus was united in marriage to Miss Emma Cowles, and to 
this marriage two children were born. The elder is Elda A., who is a graduate 
of the Beaver Dam high school and later married Arthur Spencer, now deceased, 
by whom she has one child, Gilbert, now in the eighth year of his age. The 
other is Leo O., who was educated in the public schools of Beaver Dam and 
attended high school in that city. He later attended St. John's Military Academy. 
Subsequently he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons and was grad- 
uated therefrom with the degree of M. D. in 191 1. He spent one year and a 
half as an interne in St. Joseph's Hospital and is now located in Beaver Dam and 
practicing with his father. He married August 4, 191 2, Miss Amanda Wille of 
Milwaukee. Mrs. Clark W. Voorus is a charming and hospitable woman and 
well able, by her social talents and accomplishments, to aid her husband in his 
professional life. Her father, Martin Cowles, came from Rhode Island to 
Leroy, Dodge county, at an early date and died in that city. 

In his political views Dr. Voorus is a consistent republican and a firm be- 
liever in the party and its principles. He belongs to the Methodist church and 
is active in the affairs of that organization. He has been identified with the 
Masonic order for forty years but beyond this has no affiliations outside of his 
connection with professional organizations. He belongs to the American Med- 
ical Association and to the Wisconsin State and Dodge County Medical Societies. 
He is a loyal son of Rush Medical College and keeps up his connection with its 
affairs by his activities in the alumni. He has always been interested in educa- 
tional affairs, and as superintendent of schools of Beaver Dam, a position which 
he held for five years, he did efficient and capable work. He is one of the widely 
known and popular physicians in his section of the country. His residence in 
Wisconsin dates from the early times of its pioneer settlement. He can re- 
member walking four miles to see the first threshing machine ever operated in 
connection with a fanning mill, and when his parents first settled in the county 
there was not another horse in the township where they located, all the work 
being done by ox teams. Every year of his residence in this section has brought 
Dr. Voorus increasing success and popularity. His professional practice is con- 
tinually growing and the efficiency of his methods entitle him to a high and 
honorable place among his colleagues. 



HENRY GLANDER. 

Henry Glander, owner of one of the best improved farms in Hubbard town- 
ship, is a worthy native son of Dodge county and has long been numbered among 
its most substantial agriculturists and highly esteemed citizens. He was born on 
his father's homestead in Hubbard township, the date of his birth being March 23. 
1863. His parents, Christian and Frederika (Pagel) Glander, were natives of 



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259 



Germany. The father was born in that country, March 15, 1823, and came to 
America in 1858. Both passed away in this county. 

Henry Glander was reared at home and aided in the work of the farm until 
his marriage in 1891, when he obtained from his father the property which he now 
operates. It is a fine tract of productive land and is highly improved in every 
particular, much of this work having been accomplished by Mr. Glander, who 
erected a fine barn and other outbuildings and remodeled the residence, installing 
complete equipment for hot water heating. The soil, which is naturally fertile, 
yields abundant harvests and these prove a gratifying source of revenue to 
him, while his good business ability and close application have gained for him 
rank among the progressive and prosperous agriculturists of the section. 

Mr. Glander married in 1891 Miss Rosetta Meyer, who was born in New Cas- 
sel, Wisconsin, August 6, 1865, a daughter of Benedick and Sophia (Bosin) 
Meyer, natives of Germany. Her father was born March 19, 1822, and came to 
America in the early days, dying in Wisconsin. He is survived by his widow, 
who was horn in Germany, October 5, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Glander have three 
children : Marcella, who was born April 7, 1892 ; Edna, whose birth occurred 
September 17, 1893; an< * Meta, who was born May 12, 1895. Mr. Glander sup- 
ports the democratic party, being a firm believer in the principles and policies 
for which it stands. He belongs to the Lutheran church and is known as a 
man of exemplary character. That many of his closest friends are numbered 
among those who know him from boyhood is an indication that his has been 
an honorable and upright life and that he is well worthy of the esteem in which 
he is uniformly held. 



C. HUSTING. 

O. C. Husting is secretary of the Beaver Dam City Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company, which he founded and organized, and has been identified with its 
affairs since 1905. He is a native son of Wisconsin, having been born in Fond 
du Lac, November 12, 1864, a son of John P. and Mary (Juneau) Husting, the 
former a native of Luxemburg, Germany, and the latter of Milwaukee. Their 
marriage occurred in Theresa in 1862 and immediately afterward they located 
in Fond du Lac, moving from that city to Mayville in 1876. They are now 
residing in the latter city. 

O. C. Husting received his early education in the German-English Academy 
at Fond du Lac and completed his studies in the public schools of Mayville. 
At the age of seventeen he laid aside his books and clerked in various mercan- 
tile establishments in Mayville for five years, abandoning this line of activity 
in order to go to Milwaukee, where he accepted a position in the stock depart- 
ment of a wholesale house. He advanced rapidly and was soon sent upon the 
road as a traveling salesman, working in this capacity for six years. In 1897 he 
moved to Theresa and established himself in the general mercantile business, 
conducting a store for eight years. His residence in Beaver Dam dates from 
1905, in which year he organized the Beaver Dam City Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company, with which he is connected as secretary. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On December 18, 1896, Mr. Husting was united in marriage to Miss Abbie 
Costello, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Miles Costello, of Columbus, Nebraska. 
Mrs. Husting is one in a family of eight children and was born on a farm near 
Elgin, Illinois, on January 11, 1866. 

Politically Mr. Husting gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is 
well known in local affairs. He was appointed to the position of city clerk of 
Beaver Dam to fill an unexpired term and reelected to a full term but resigned 
on account of other business interests. He also was made a member of the police 
and fire commission by Mayor Merlach in recognition of his able and conscien- 
tious services. Fraternally Mr. Husting is a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and also of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is secretary 
of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and well known in the affairs of the Beaver 
Reserve Fund Fraternity. He maintains in both his business and his political 
life high standards of honor and integrity and these have made his insurance 
enterprise prosperous and his public career more honorable and worthy. 



FREDERICK SETTE. 

Frederick Settc of Iron Ridge is proprietor of several cheese factories in 
Herman township. His able conduct of this enterprise make him a power in 
business circles of his section, while his capable discharge of his duties as post- 
master of Iron Ridge gives him prominence in a more public way. He was born 
in Clyman township, April 7, 1858, a son of Martin and Carolina (Meyer) 
Sette, natives of Brandenburg, Germany, who came to America in the early '40s 
and settled in Clyman township, where the father purchased land and engaged 
in farming until his death, which occurred in April, 1904. His wife survived 
him until May, 1911. 

Frederick Sette received his early education in the public schools of his 
native section and later attended the Northwestern University at Watertown. At 
the age of eighteen he worked as a farm hand during the summer months but 
still continued his studies in the winter. When he had finally completed his 
education he obtained a position, selling machinery and pianos and organs, 
until his marriage in 1880. Afterward he moved to Racine and there for five 
years worked as a painter and paper hanger before he moved to Woodland, 
where he engaged in the manufacture of brick cheese. He still operates this 
factory, making only the well known Badger brand of cheese, which finds a 
ready sale in all states of the Union. November, 1901, he moved to Iron Ridge, 
where he operated a general store for three years and then disposed of his 
interest in this business in order to establish himself as a hardware merchant. 
After three years he was appointed postmaster, assuming office April 10, 1907, 
and is still serving, discharging his duties ably and conscientiously. 

On January 30, 1880, Mr. Sette was united in marriage to Miss Katherine 
Hein, who was born in Herman township, March ti. i860, a daughter of Nich- 
olas and Mary (Herker) Hein, natives of the Rhine province, Prussia, who 
came to America in 1849 and located in Herman township on a farm near Iron 
Ridge. This property they later sold and moved into Woodland, where the 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



261 



father passed away in 1875. The mother survives and lives in Milwaukee. Mr. 
and Mrs. Settcare the parents of four children. Edward, born April 3, 1881, 
was married in Old Mexico, his wife being of Spanish descent. He is now 
engaged in the automobile business in Douglas, Arizona. Sophia Mary, born 
March 5, 1884, is engaged in the millinery business in Kenosha. Frances, born 
December io, 1889, was formerly engaged in teaching school and is now resid- 
ing with her sister, Sophia Mary. Frederick E., the youngest member of the 
family, was born January 30, 1895, and is a student in the high school at Horicon. 

Mr. Sette gives his allegiance to the republican party and is well known in 
local affairs. He served as justice of the peace for many years and is at the 
present time notary public and postmaster. He is one of Dodge county's most 
enterprising and successful native sons and has gained distinct and substantial 
prosperity by practical business methods and an integrity which is beyond all 
question. 



RUDOLF KRAUT. 

Since Rudolf Kraut was twenty-six years of age he has been closely con- 
nected with agricultural interests in Dodge county and for a number of years 
has been carrying on general farming and dairying upon one hundred and fifty 
acres of land near Woodland. He was born in Lebanon township, March 22, 
1854, and is a son of Christ and Gusta (Kulike) Kraut, natives of Germany. 
The father came to America in the early '50s and died in Lebanon township, 
Dodge county. Christ Kraut after coming to America worked for others for 
a time but later purchased forty acres of land in Lebanon township which he 
owned at the time of his death. The mother of our subject resides in Hustis- 
ford township. 

Rudolf Kraut attended the German schools in Hustisford township and 
after he had completed his education aided his father upon the home farm until 
he was twenty-six years of age. At that time he began his independent career, 
renting a tract of land which he operated for one year. He carried on general 
agricultural pursuits for eight years on another rented farm and for twelve 
years on still another property. At the end of that time he moved to another 
tract of land but after four years, in 1904, bought a farm of one hundred and 
fifty acres, upon which he has since resided. One hundred and twenty acres of 
this are under cultivation and thirty acres is marsh and timber land. Mr. 
Kraut has made extensive improvements in his farm buildings and intends to 
erect a fine new silo in the near future. Everything on his place is in excellent 
condition and shows the result of care and attention. 

On October 16, 1879, Mr. Kraut was united in marriage to Miss Augusta 
Lindert, a native of Germany and a daughter of John and Augusta (Rehse) 
Lindcrt. The father was born in Germany, October to. 1823, and died in Hub- 
bard township, Dodge county, July 10, 1892. The mother's birth occurred also 
in the fatherland, her natal day being July 2t, 1829. She is still living and 
resides with her son in Hubbard township. Mr. and Mrs. Kraut have six chil- 
dren : Martha, who was born April 29, 1882. and who married Felix Rocsler. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of Hustisford township; Frank, who was born March 7, 1884; Francis, born 
January 15, 1886; Henry, whose birth occurred January 29, 1888; Walter, who 
was born August 27, 1892; and Minnie, born November II, 1894. The family 
are members of the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Kraut gives his allegiance to the democratic party but is not active 
politically, his entire attention being absorbed in the conduct of his farm. His 
labors have done much to raise agricultural standards and to promote the spread 
of progressive methods of farm operation and his success is well merited, for 
he is capable in management and displays untiring industry in carrying forward 
his interests. 



AUGUST D. VOLKMAN. 

August D. Volkman is engaged in the furniture, undertaking and automobile 
business in Iron Ridge and has for three years given his attention entirely to its 
conduct. In a short time he has built up a flourishing patronage, basing his 
prosperity upon progressive methods and honorable standards. He is a native 
son of Dodge county, born in Hubbard township, August 27, 1867, a son of 
William and Albertina (Genz) Volkman, natives of Germany, the former born 
August 9, 1838, and the latter on the 25th of March, 1841. The father came 
to America with his parents when he was a child of eight years and with them 
settled in Watertown, where he grew to maturity. His wife also came to Amer- 
ica at an early date, settling in Wisconsin with her parents when she was ten 
years of age. In this state their marriage occurred and soon afterward they 
moved to Herman township and from there two years later to Hubbard town- 
ship. In that section they are still residing, the father devoting his time to 
farming. In their family were five children : William, who is serving as sheriff 
of Dodge county ; August D., of this review ; Edward B., who is engaged in 
the real-estate business at Watertown : Albert, who is farming in Herman town- 
ship; and Albertina, the wife of George Ilennig. a farmer of Herman township. 

August D. Volkman attended school at Brown's Corners, Hubbard town- 
ship, and later was a student in the German schools in Herman township. He 
remained at home until 1891, in which year he purchased from his father one 
hundred and twenty acres of land in Mubbard township, to which he later 
added forty acres, and upon this property he resided until 1909, when he dis- 
posed of his holdings and moved to Iron Ridge, where he established himself 
in the furniture, undertaking and automobile business, an enterprise which has 
steadily expanded since that time. He keeps a modern and complete stock of 
house furnishings, never allowing his lines to become broken or out of date, 
and his extensive patronage attests his success. The automobile department 
is a business in itself and has reached gratifying proportions. The entire es- 
tablishment is a thoroughly modern enterprise operated by a true business man 
and it shows the result of the energy and efficiency of its owner in increasing 
trade. 

On April 29, 1894. Mr. Volkman was united in marriage to Miss Emma 
Weiss, who was Ixmi in Herman township. August 25. 1870, a daughter of 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



263 



William and Albertina (Moesenberg) Weiss, natives of Germany, where the 
father served his term in the regular army before coming to America and set- 
tling in Dodge county among its early settlers. After his arrival in the United 
States William Weiss followed the shoemaking trade for a number of years 
and later operated a farm. He is now living retired in Juneau, his wife hav- 
ing passed away in November, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Volkman have four chil- 
dren: Irwin W., born February 4, 1895; Clarence G., born March 24, 1901 ; 
Inez, born November 17, 1905; and Eugene, born April 18, 1912. 

In his political views Mr. Volkman is a consistent democrat and is now 
serving his second year as township treasurer. For eight years he was super- 
visor and for three years chairman of his township and served with ability and 
efficiency for fifteen years as school treasurer, bringing to the discharge of his 
official duties a conscientiousness and sense of responsibility which made him 
an able and effective public servant. He is a true type of the modern business 
man, shrewd and keen, with a discriminating knowledge of values and the abil- 
ity to put that knowledge to practical use. His methods are progressive and 
effective, but his standards arc the old ones of honesty, straightforward deal- 
ing and hard work. 



WILLIAM ROBERTS. 

William Roberts owns and operates a fine farm of two hundred and fifty 
acres, nearly all of which is within the limits of Iron Ridge, and he devotes his 
entire time to its management and development. By progressive methods and 
well directed energy he has gained success as an agriculturist and has one of the 
most productive tracts of land in Dodge county. He has many claims to recogni- 
tion as a man whose activities have been effective for good and whose present 
career is useful and worthy. He is one of the early settlers in this section and 
has witnessed much of its growth and development. He served with distinc- 
tion during the Civil war and is at the present time one of the prosperous, 
enterprising and representative farmers of Dodge county. He was born in 
Utica, Oneida county, New York, October 18, 1843, * s° n ° f Vincent and Try- 
phena (Jones) Roberts, the former of whom was born in Wales, March 10, 1818, 
and the latter in Oneida county, New York, February 3, 1822. The father came 
to America with his parents in 1828 and settled immediately in Oneida county, 
where he grew to manhood. He worked upon neighboring farms until his mar- 
riage and afterward engaged in the restaurant business until 1845, when he and 
his family came west and settled on a farm in Emmet township. After two 
years this property was sold and they moved to the vicinity of Iron Ridge, 
where the father bought land which is now operated by the subject of this 
review. It was a tract of raw land and had to be cleared of brush and timber 
before the work of cultivation could be begun. Upon this Vincent Roberts 
lived, developing the property and bringing it to a high state of cultivation before 
his death, which occurred on the 5th of October. 1888. His wife died June 9, 
1887. The father was well known not only as a farmer but also as a private 
banker, in which line of activity he did a flourishing business for some time. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



He was prominent in local republican politics and served as justice of the peace 
for a number of years. He and his wife were the parents of ten children: 
William, of this review; John, who when last heard of, in 1893, was residing 
in the west ; Vincent, who resides with the subject of this review ; David, who 
is engaged in the real-estate business in West Allis, Wisconsin, and who is serv- 
ing as city treasurer; George W., of Hortonville, who is a traveling salesman, 
representing the Robert Elliott Company, commission merchants of Milwau- 
kee; A. C, who makes his home with his brother William; R. W., deceased, 
who was a prominent banker in Milwaukee and the owner of three banks in 
northern Wisconsin; Lydia Ann, the wife of James Wiggins, formerly engaged 
in farming near Rubicon, and now residents of Hartford, Wisconsin ; Mary, 
the widow of L. E. Wheeler, formerly a potato buyer, residing in Randolph 
township, Dodge county; and Lovina Lutina, the wife of Bert Day, a real-estate 
dealer of Fond du Lac. 

William Roberts attended school in Emmet township and later in Iron 
Ridge. When he was eighteen years of age he went to Jacksonville, Illinois, 
and there for one season worked as a farm hand. Returning home, he re- 
sumed his interrupted studies but afterward again went to Jacksonville, where 
he obtained a position as attendant in the Insane Asylum. In the following year 
he returned to his birthplace, Utica, New York, and while on a visit there en- 
listed in the Federal army, joining Company E, Fourteenth New York Heavy 
Artillery, on October 10, 1863, and served under Captain Flagg, of Janesville, 
Wisconsin, until the end of the war. He was present at most of the important 
engagements during his term of service and never missed a day's duty. He re- 
ceived no disabling wounds and was never taken prisoner nor confined in a hos- 
pital. At the close of hostilities he was mustered out and immediately returned 
to Dodge county, where he remained for a short time upon a farm. Afterward 
he accepted a position as brakeman on the northern division of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and retained this connection for two years, at 
the end of which time he returned to the farm and for some years assisted his 
father. Later he conducted a grain elevator and lumberyard in Iron Ridge but 
abandoned the operation of this enterprise upon his father's death, when he 
assumed charge of the homestead and has developed it since that time. The 
improvements which he has made upon his property and the new and progressive 
standards to which he has steadily adhered have made it one of the model agri- 
cultural enterprises in this section of the county and have gained him recogni- 
tion as an enterprising and successful agriculturist. 

In October, 1867, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Mary Brown, 
who was born in Emmet township, a daughter of Lemuel and Lydia (Ferguson) 
Brown, natives of New York state, who came to Wisconsin in the early '40s and 
settled upon a farm in Emmet township. Later they moved to Missouri, where 
both died some time afterward. Mrs. Roberts is the eldest in a family of four 
children. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of a daughter, Clara Belle, who 
lives with her parents. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Mr. Roberts gives his allegiance to the republican party and has served as 
deputy sheriff and as agent for the Wisconsin Humane Society, in Dodge county. 
He is prominent in the affairs of the Masonic order, holding membership in the 
lodge at Neosho. However, he gives practically his entire time and attention 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



265 



to the development of his farm along systematic and progressive lines. He has 
made substantial improvements upon his place and has added greatly to its 
value by keeping it modern in its equipment and up-to-date in its various depart- 
ments. An able and enterprising business man, his keen sagacity and industry 
constitute the basis of his distinct and substantial prosperity. 



STEPHEN N. CAMPBELL. 

Stephen N. Campbell, son of James Campbell and Elizabeth (Gould) Camp- 
bell, was born in Toronto, Canada, December 18, 1839, and was but a little lad 
when his father died. He pursued his education in the schools of his native 
country but his opportunities in that direction were somewhat limited for when 
but eleven or twelve years of age he began providing for his own support. 
He was employed by his elder brothers and worked in other connections and at 
all times manifested the industry and diligence which characterized him through- 
out his entire life. A removal was made at an early day to the vicinity of Mil- 
waukee where land was entered from the government, but becoming ill the 
brothers left that district and gave up their land. Stephen N. Campbell after- 
ward went to Berlin, Wisconsin, where he was connected with his brothers in 
the marble business. He later went to Fond du Lac, where he carried on a 
similar enterprise until 1880. In that year he removed to Horicon and became 
interested in the Van Brunt factory, being elected vice president of the com- 
pany, in which capacity he continued until his death on the 3d of April, 1906. 
Throughout the intervening period of more than a quarter of a century his 
undivided time and attention were given to the Van Brunt interests, which are 
mentioned at length on another page of this work in connection with the sketch 
of Willard A. Van Brunt. He was systematic and methodical in all that he 
undertook, resolute and determined in what he accomplished and possessed of 
enterprising spirit which brooked no obstacles that could be overcome by per- 
sistent labor and careful management. 

It was on the 15th of January, 1880, that Mr. Campbell was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Ida M. Van Brunt, who was born at Mayville, Wisconsin, and 
is a daughter of Daniel C. and Mary (Wright) Van Brunt. To Mr. and Mrs 
Campbell has been born one son, Willard Van Brunt, whose birth occurred 
May 2, 1881. He was married June 28. 1905, to Minnie M. Warren, who was 
born at Waupun, Wisconsin, December 5. 1880. He has for several years been 
engaged in the automobile businesss in Minneapolis but has recently sold out 
and removed to Med ford, Oregon, where he owns a large fruit ranch, to the 
further development of which he devotes his energies. 

Mr. Campbell was a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second 
degree of the Scottish Rite. He also belonged at one time to the Elks lodge at 
Fond du Lac but withdrew from that organization. His widow is a member of 
the Eastern Star at Beaver Dam and is also connected with the Daughters of 
the American Revolution at Milwaukee. The religious faith of Mr. Campbell 
was that of the Episcopal church, to the teachings of which he was ever loyal 
and devoted. His political views accorded with the principles of the democratic 



20B 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



party and that he was a prominent and influential citizen is indicated by the fact 
that he served several terms as mayor of Horicon. Businesslike qualities char- 
acterized his administration, which was at all times actuated by a spirit of de- 
votion to the public good. The residence which Mrs. Campbell now occupies 
was in course of construction at the time of her husband's death. His business 
record was one of intense activity in which was accorded due recognition of 
labor. He could look beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportun- 
ities of the future and he was above all practical, so that his labors were re- 
sultant. It was not alone because of his business ability, however, that Mr. 
Campbell was greatly respected by his fellow townsmen. He manifested qual- 
ities of public-spirited citizenship and at all times he held friendship inviolable. 
His sterling traits as a man and citizen commended him to the good-will and 
warm regard of all with whom he was associated. 



Germany has given to America many of her upright, sturdy and enterprising 
sons, who have brought to the new world the best of their national character- 
istics to the attainment of honorable achievements. Wisconsin is fortunate in 
numbering among her sons many men of German birth and parentage, among 
whom may be mentioned William Bohnenstengel, who cultivates an excellent 
farm of one hundred and forty acres near Iron Ridge and who for many years 
has been closely connected with agricultural interests in that section. He was 
born in Pomerania, Germany, August 15, 1864, and is a son of Frederick and 
Henrietta (Sauk) Bohnenstengel, both natives of the fatherland. Frederick 
Uohnenstengel was born in Pomerania in May, 181 5, where he died February 
13, 1872. His wife was born on the 9th of January, 1827, and her death occur- 
red in Germany, January 10, 1872. 

William Bohnenstengel began his active life when he was fourteen years 
of age. He completed his education in the public schools of his native country 
and then worked as a farm hand until the age of seventeen. At that time he 
crossed the Atlantic to America and settled at Iron Ridge, Wisconsin, where for 
a short time he worked in the iron mines. Determining, however, to follow agri- 
cultural pursuits, he rented a farm and after five years purchased one hundred 
and forty acres in the vicinity, upon which he has since resided. Twenty-five 
acres arc lowland but the rest of the farm is rich and productive and yields 
abundant harvests every year. This property is highly improved, being pro- 
vided not only with an excellent residence but also with a fine new barn forty 
feet wide by ninety-six feet long and all the machinery which are used in farm- 
ing by modern methods. Mr. Bohnenstengel engages in general farming but 
gives special attention to the conduct of his dairy, which is kept clean and sani- 
tary in every particular. He is well known throughout the county and his 
straightforward business methods and enterprising spirit have gained him re- 
spect. 

On March 15, 1886, Mr. Bohnenstengel married Miss Recke Zietlow, who 
was born in Pomerania, Germany, January 13. 1862. She is a daughter of John 



WILLIAM BOHNENSTENGEL. 




-. 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



267 



and Recke (Froelich) Zictlow, both of whom were born in Germany and died 
in America. Mr. and Mrs. Bohnenstengel have three children: William, Jr., 
who was born December 25, 1887; Otto, born April 13, 1892; and Martha, born 
January 9, 1894. All the children live at 'home. The family are devout adher- 
ents of the German Lutheran church. 

Mr. Bohnenstengel gives his allegiance to the republican party. There are 
few citizens in Dodge county more widely and favorably known, for his en- 
terprising and progressive spirit has made him successful in business and his 
many sterling qualities of mind and character have gained him the warm and 
lasting regard of those with whom he has been brought into contact. 



HARRY B. SEARS, M. D. 

Dr. Harry B. Sears, a well known medical practitioner of Beaver Dam, Wis- 
consin, was born on March 6, 1858, in Byron, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, 
and is a son of Harry A. and Adclia D. (Palmer) Sears. The paternal grand- 
father, Harry Sears, married Miss Almira Gardner, who was born in 1798. On 
the maternal side our subject is descended from Nelson H. Palmer, whose birth 
occurred in 1807. Harry A. Sears, the father, was a native of Springville, Eric 
county, New York, where his birth occurred October 10, 1818. He was reared 
at home and educated in the public schools of Hamilton county, New York. 
He came west in 1853 and located at Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he remained 
for some time. He was well known in religious circles and a devout adherent 
of the Baptist faith. When he later located in Fond du Lac county he took up 
a tract of government land and engaged in agricultural pursuits for'many years. 
He was the organizer of the Baptist church at Campbellsport and was well known 
as a man of exemplary character. He died on July 22, 1887. His wife's death 
had preceded his and occurred on April 18, 1880. They were married on May 
29, 1855, at Waukesha and were the parents of four children : Almira A., whose 
birth occurred March 2. 1856; Harry, our subject, is the next in order of birth; 
Carrie A., born May 27, 1865, who is the wife of C. P. Doolittle; and John E , 
born August 13, 1867, who is a resident of Buhl, Idaho. 

Dr. Sears was educated in the public schools of Fond du Lac and later at- 
tended high school in that city. He supplemented this by a course in the Osh- 
kosh State Normal School and in 1882 was graduated from Rush Medical Col- 
lege in Chicago with the degree of M. D. He located for practice at Ishpeming, 
Michigan, and spent one year there, removing to Hermansville, that state, and 
also remaining a year before he established his residence in Beaver Dam in 1884. 
He realized the need for specialization in these modern days of medical prac- 
tice and entered Rush Medical College to take a course in eye, ear, nose and 
throat surgery. He has also taken post-graduate work in Chicago. From the 
very beginning his success has been rapid. The number of his patients is grow- 
ing yearly and increases as his ability and medical skill become better known 
Dr. Sears is affiliated with the various organizations connected with his profes- 
sion. He is a member of the American Medical Association and in the Wiscon- 
sin State Medical Society has held the office of councillor for seven years. He 



268 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



has been vice president of this organization since 1908 and in his work in these 
capacities has given evidence of his ability and knowledge. 

On November 9, 1887, Dr. Sears was united in marriage to Miss Jennie L. 
Germain, a daughter of Columbus and Emily (Brower) Germain, of Beaver 
Dam, and to their union three children were born : Harry G., whose birth oc- 
curred September 13, 1888, and who died March 9, of the following year; Janet 
A., born March 14, 1890, who is living at home; and Harry J., born January 12, 
1893, who is a student at the Whitewater Normal School. Dr. Sears' second 
marriage occurred November 11, 1903, when he wedded Miss Elizabeth Rober- 
son, a daughter of Fletcher and Sarah (McPherson) Roberson. By this union 
he is the father of two children, George Roberson, born September 12, 1904, 
and Robert McPherson, born July 6, 1906. Dr. Sears is not affiliated with any 
political party, preferring to follow the dictates of his conscience and judgment 
in support of measures and candidates, whom he considers in the light of effi- 
ciency and ability relative to the office to which they aspire. 



George W. Theisen, a native son of Dodge county, prominent in its politics 
and active in its business life, died at his home in Juneau, July 29, 191 1. For 
almost a quarter of a century he had been engaged in various important local 
enterprises and had done much constructive work in development, and his death 
deprived his native section of one of its most prominent, substantial and repre- 
sentative citizens. He was born in Lomira, Dodge county, February 22. 1869, 
a son of Frank and Elizabeth (Mandery) Theisen, natives of Germany, who 
were early settlers in Dodge county In Lomira the father conducted a general 
store and saloon until the time of his death. His wife survived him for many 
years, dying in Milwaukee. 

After completing his primary education in the public schools of Lomira, 
George W. Theisen attended Meyer's Business College in Milwaukee, and then 
kept books for a Milwaukee wholesale house, after which he conducted his 
father's store for a number of years. After his marriage in 1891, he purchased 
the stock and continued the business for two years, when the enterprise was 
sold. Six months later Mr. Theisen purchased a fine business building and a 
stock of general merchandise in Lomira, conducting this business for a number 
of years and then traded it for a neighboring farm, which he improved and 
operated for a time. During the two years which he spent upon his farm he 
was elected clerk of the circuit court and upon his reelection moved to Juneau, 
where he purchased a comfortable and pleasant home in which he resided until 
his death. During his term as clerk of the court he sold his farm and after mov- 
ing to this city he gradually became interested in local business enterprises, 
prominent among which was the Juneau Automatic Carrier Company. 

On January 6, 1891, Mr. Theisen was united in marriage to Miss Matilda 
Kiefer, who was born at Fond du Lac, December 25, 1869, a daughter of Peter 
and Halbina (Ruff) Kiefer, the former a native of Germany and the latter of 
Fond du Lac. The father came to America with his parents when a small boy. 



GEORGE W. THEISEN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



269 



The family settled in Lomira, where Peter Kiefer remained until he began his 
own career. He then went to Fond du Lac, where for some time he engaged 
in the butcher business. About 1872 he purchased land at Oak Center, Fond 
du Lac county, and thereon resided until 1882, when he disposed of his holdings 
and moved to a farm near Portage, which he improved and developed, selling it 
eventually and returning to Fond du Lac, where he is now living retired. His 
wife passed away in 1871. The wife of our subject was the only child born 
to their union. To Mr. and Mrs. Theisen nine children were born: Olivia, born 
December 3, 1891 ; George, born January 2, 1893; Felix, born January 20, 1894; 
John, who was born August 6, 1895, and died on September 29 of the same year; 
Cecilia, born October 8, 1896; Agatha, born October 19, 1898; Eugene, born 
April 16, 1900; Margaret, born July 11, 1902; and Ruth, born August 3, 1904- 
Mr. Theisen gave his poltical allegiance to the democratic party and was 
active and prominent in local affairs. For eight years he served as clerk of the 
county court and previous to that time had been justice of the peace. This 
office he again held after completing his term as clerk of the court and was active 
in the discharge of its duties at the time of his death. For several years he 
served on the state central committee, bringing to his public life the same con- 
scientiousness, ability and resourceful energy which made his business career 
prosperous and successful. He was a devout adherent of the Roman Catholic 
church and his religion was a vital force in his life. He belonged to the Catholic 
Knights and to the Catholic Order of Foresters and was active in the affairs of 
both organizations. He was also a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 
The prominence of the place which he gained during his life and the importance 
of the work which he did is evidenced by the widespread regret which his death 
caused. In politics he was upright, conscientious and honorable and in business 
thoroughly straightforward and sincere, yet his truest happiness lay in his home 
life and he found his real contentment in being surrounded by his family, who 
loved and honored him for his personal qualities, his kindliness, his considera- 
tion, his unfailing courtesy, and mourned at his death a well beloved husband 
and father. 



JAMES A. BUNNELL. 

James A. Bunnell, connected with the Albert Lea Gas Light Company, has in 
various ways been identified with the commercial and industrial interests of Cly- 
man and is still the owner of the largest store building of that village. He has a 
wide acquaintance here, substantial qualities of manhood and citizenship having 
gained him high regard. He was born in Clyman township, November 5, 1855, 
and is a son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Jane (Miller) Bunnell, who were 
natives of the state of New York. The father became proprietor of a hotel and 
general mercantile business at Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, to which city he removed 
at an early day, but left there in 1854. He also engaged in the logging business in 
that part of the state but subsequently came to Clyman township, Dodge county, 
and died at the home of his father-in-law in the year 1855, about six months before 
the birth of his son James. His widow continued a resident of Clyman township 



270 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



with the exception of one year at Campbell, Minnesota, until her death, which 
occurred on the 5th of September, 1881. She had married again, becoming the 
wife of Robert Glover, who is also deceased. By her first marriage she had two 
children, the elder dying in infancy. 

James A. Bunnell began his education in the district schools of his native 
township and also spent one year in study at Watertown. He remained with his 
mother until he had attained his majority, about which time he became owner of 
one hundred and sixty acres of land in Clyman township and operated the farm 
for almost two decades, or until 1891, carefully and systematically cultivating the 
fields which returned to him golden harvests. In 1891 he also became proprietor 
of a general hardware and agricultural implement business, which he conducted 
while carrying on farm work. In the year in which he established the business he 
returned to Clyman but in 1893 rented the building and sold his stock of hard- 
ware and agricultural implements. He then resumed farming, purchasing land in 
Fond du Lac county, whereon he resided for four years. He then disposed of 
that property and once more became a resident of Clyman, where he again con- 
ducted a hardware business for a period of three years. After disposing of the 
stock he went upon the road as a traveling salesman, handling threshing machines, 
shredders and other farm machinery for about four years. He next became con- 
nected with the Austin — Weston Company, selling road-building machinery a 
part of the time for about ten years, subsequently he lived retired until the spring 
of 1912, but indolence and idleness are truly foreign to his nature and he reentered 
business circles, engaging with the Albert Lea Gas Light Company, with which he 
is still connected. He is the owner of the largest store building in Clyman, now 
occupied by the firm of Morgan & Young, hardware dealers, who are mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. He is also the owner of a half acre of ground upon 
which his residence stands and two valuable lots in North .Milwaukee, and like- 
wise has one hundred shares of stock in the North American iron mine, near 
Tower, Minnesota. 

On the 28th of February, 1878, .Mr. Bunnell married Miss Jennie E. Ennison. 
who was born in Emmet township, this county, May 15, 1857, and is a daughter 
of William and Jessie (Bertie) Ennison. The mother's birth 'occurred in Dundee, 
Scotland, July 6, 1824, while the father was born in Ireland, March 22, 1818. of 
English parentage. They were married in Emmet township, Dodge county, the 
father having come to America when a young man and, after residing for a num- 
ber of years in Massachusetts, removed to Wisconsin, taking up his abode in 
Emmet township. There he purchased a tract of land and continued faming 
until 1866. when he sold that property and removed to the village of Clyman. 
where he lived practically retired, although he sold farm machinery to some 
extent. He filled the office of justice of the peace and was chairman of the town 
board. He likewise served as town clerk and was ever loyal and faithful in the 
discharge of his official duties. In early life he taught school for a number of 
terms and was a man of liberal education and progressive spirit. He died 
October 31, 1875, and the mother, who survives him, makes her home during 
the greater part of the time with Mr. Bunnell. She had been previously married 
to James Aimer, who died in Boston, and there were three children born to 
that union: Mary, who is the widow of William Christie and resides near St. 
Charles, Minnesota; Jessie, who is the wife of James Lowth and makes her 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



271 



home with her son at Janesville, Wisconsin; and Margaret, who is the widow of 
George Clair and lives near Cottonwood, Minnesota. By the second marriage 
there were five children : Jennie E., the wife of our subject ; Anna, the wife of 
James Gibb, living at Cottonwood, Minnesota; Nellie, the wife of Charles Vehrns, 
of Eldorado, Wisconsin; James, deceased; and William, whose home is in La 
Crosse, Wisconsin. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell : 
Myrtle Jeannette, who is the wife of H. L. Morgan; and Mabel Jessie, the wife 
of L. J. Young. The former was born January 28, 1880, and the latter April 1, 
1889. 

The family is well known in Clyman, where Mr. Bunnell has lived for many 
years, his sterling traits of character winning him the kindly regard and warm 
friendship of those with whom he has been associated. There have been no 
spectacular phases in his life, but activity and reliability in business, and fidelity 
and trustworthiness in other relations have gained him a place with the worthy 
and representative citizens of his community. 



W. R. OWEN. 

W. R. Owen is one of the oldest stock shippers in Dodge county in point of 
continuous identification with that line of work and is one of the leading and 
foremost men in business, political and social circles of Westford. He was born 
in Oneida county, New York, in 1848, a son of John R. Owen, a native of North 
Wales, born about the year 1818. The latter came to this country when he was 
eighteen years of age, the first of a family of thirteen to settle in America. He 
located near Rome, New York, and from there subsequently came direct to the 
vicinity of Randolph, Wisconsin, settling one and one-half miles southwest of the 
village. He bought a farm of Jerry Williams and upon this property he lived 
for many years, cultivating and improving it until his death. He is buried in 
Randolph. In Rome, New York, he married Miss Mary Jones and to them two 
children were born. John R. Owen contracted subsequently a second union by 
which eight children were born. The ten children are as follows : Jennie, born 
in 1846, married John J. Loomis, of Oneida county, New York. W. R., the 
subject of this sketch, is the second in order of birth. Mary, born in 1854, the 
first child of the second marriage, married E. P. Jones and they reside in 
Randolph. Katherine, born in 1856, married George Button, who passed away 
at Milton Junction. Margaret, born in 1858, has been twice married. Her first 
union was with Dr. Green, whose death occurred in Beaver Dam. Her second 
union was with Fremont Potter and they now reside in Sparta, Wisconsin. John 
H., born in i860, married Margaret Pohl, of 'Milton Junction, and they became 
the parents of four children, three of whom survive. Fannie, born in 1862, 
became the wife of Gilbert I'.urdick, of Randolph, in which city her death 
occurred in 1882. Ida, born in 1864, married William Beckelkop, of Aberdeen, 
South Dakota, and they have four children. Alice, born in 1866, died at the age 
of fourteen and is buried in Randolph. George L., born in 1868, is a resident 
of Skidmore, Missouri. He married Anna Williams and they have one son. 

W. R. Owen was educated in the public schools of New York state and came 



272 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



with his father to Wisconsin when he was eighteen years of age. He remained 
at home until his marriage and then came to Randolph, where for some time he 
was identified with the machinery business. Eventually, however, he became a 
stock shipper and has followed this line of occupation since that time, being one 
of the oldest shippers in Wisconsin in point of continuous identification with the 
business. He is also interested in the Prairie View Canning Company and in 
many other important local enterprises. 

In 1872 Mr. Owen married Miss Frances R. Thomas, a daughter of Bailey 
and Julia Thomas, of Courtland, Columbia county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Owen was 
well known in club circles of the city and to her many friends as a charming, 
hospitable and talented woman of remarkable social accomplishments. She was 
the first matron of the Order of the Eastern Star and held that position at the 
time of her death which occurred at Randolph. Her leisure hours were devoted 
to art, for which she had a decided talent, and many of her paintings adorn 
the walls of her late home. She had a facility for copying from papers and 
magazines and did some attractive work in pencil, her pictures showing always 
the true artistic instinct. She died in August, 1905, and is buried in Randolph. 

Mr. Owen gives his allegiance to the Republican party and is well known in 
local politics, having served with ability and distinction for four years as presi- 
dent of the village. He is a member of the Masonic order and was a charter 
member of Randolph Lodge, No. 270, A. F. & A. M. An early settler in West- 
ford, he has been identified with the remarkable growth which the village has 
undergone in an industrial way, his labors having been dominating factors in 
promoting the activity which means commercial expansion. He has never con- 
fined his energies to one line of endeavor but has made his influence felt equally 
in politics, in business and in social life, and to him Westford owes much of its 
growing prominence along all lines. 



B. F. Sherman, with wide acquaintance in journalistic circles throughout 
the state because of his long connection with The Argus, was born in Ann Arbor, 
Michigan, on the 30th of November, 1836, a son of Benjamin and Jeanette 
(Pulsifer) Sherman. The parents died during the early boyhood of their son, 
who came to Wisconsin in 1857, when a young man of twenty-one years. He 
had previously learned the printer's trade in Michigan and secured employment 
in the office of The Citizen, then as now a well known paper of Beaver Dam. 
For a year he was in Madison and for a short time in Milwaukee. In the 
spring of 1862 he entered the office of The Argus, formerly The Horicon Argus, 
which had been established by B. W. Curtis and was removed to Beaver Dam, 
where it was first issued in December, 1862. In January, 1863, the paper was 
purchased by B. F. Sherman and D. C. Gowdcy, who remained as its proprietors 
until the 1st of July, 1884, when Mr. Gowdey sold out to Mr. Sherman, who has 
since owned and published The Argus. Frank Hutchins was afterward asso- 
ciated with Mr. Sherman on the paper from 1884 until 1891, when his son, 
William H. Sherman, became associated with his father in the ownership and 



B. F. SHERMAN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



275 



editorship of The Argus. The paper has ever maintained rank with the lead- 
ing weekly journals of the state. It has shown none of the elements of the 
sensational or of "yellow journalism," having always maintained a conservative 
as well as a progressive policy, seeking to present a correct account of general 
news and of the conditions which affect society at large as well as to give mat- 
ters of local interest. 

In August, 1859, Mr. Sherman was married to Miss Martha Shuart, of 
Beaver Dam, a daughter of Henry and Catherine Shuart, who came to this city 
in 1854 from Rockland county, New York. The father was a wagon maker by 
trade and followed that pursuit through much of his life. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Sherman were born eight children, of whom three are now deceased, the others 
being: William H., who is with his father in business; Catherine, the wife of 
George F. Cobb, a resident of Miles City, Montana; and Albert F., Arthur J. 
and James B., all of whom are connected with their father in the printing office. 

Mr. Sherman holds membership with the Masonic fraternity and the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and has ever been loyal to their teachings. 
His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth, ability and fidelity, have fre- 
quently called him to local office. He has twice served as city treasurer, has 
been a member of the school board and for twenty-one years has been a mem- 
ber of the city council — a record unequalled by that of any other alderman. In 
1879 he was elected to the state legislature and in 1882 was chosen to represent 
his district in the state senate. The public record of few residents of Beaver 
Dam has covered a longer period and none has been more faultless in honor, 
fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation. 



NICHOLAS M. KLINK. 

Nicholas M. Klink is superintendent of the Dodge county insane asylum 
and poor farm, and although he has been acting in this capacity barely a year, 
has shown in this time peculiar fitness for the duties of his office. He was 
born in Rubicon township, in February, 1866, a son of Nicholas and Paulina 
(Schilinger) Klink, natives of Wittenberg, Germany. His father came to 
America when he was about twenty years of age and settled in Wisconsin, 
where he worked at farming in the employ of others for several years. Later 
he bought land and upon it carried on general agricultural pursuits until a few 
years before his death when he moved to Rubicon and lived retired. He passed 
away April 20, 1906. His wife survives him and makes her home in Jefferson. 

Nicholas M. Klink is the fifth in a family of thirteen children. He attended 
the public and German schools in Rubicon and after he laid aside his books, 
aided his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-six years of age. 
Then he rented the property from his father and for four years operated and 
improved it. At the end of that time he purchased the tract of land which he 
now owns in Rubicon township and upon this he resided until January, 19 12. 
when he was appointed superintendent of the county insane asylum and poor 
farm, assuming his duties on January 3, of the same year. 

The county poor farm, over which Mr. Klink has entire charge has an area 

of two hundred and twenty acres, one hundred and seventy of which are under 
• vol n— 1 « 



276 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



cultivation. The average number of inmates in this institution is about forty 
and the produce from the farm, which is largely operated by the insane, is suffi- 
cient to support all of the inmates. In the Dodge county insane asylum are about 
one hundred and forty patients, most of whom are sent there from Dodge 
county. There are five employes on the poor farm and seventeen in the insane 
asylum. To Mr. Klink is entrusted the entire management of these institutions 
and general supervision over the employes. He is fulfilling the responsible 
duties in connection with his position with remarkable tact and circumspection, 
making the institutions as comfortable as possible for the unfortunates in his 
charge, at the lowest expenditure to the taxpayers of the county. 

On May 30, 1892, Mr. Klink was united in marriage. to Miss Louisa Engil- 
dinger, who was born in Rubicon township, November 20, 1873, a daughter 
of Mathias and Barbara (Keefer) Engildinger, the former a native of Germany 
and the latter of Paris, France. In that city their marriage occurred and there 
they resided for thirteen years, coming to America at the end of that time and 
settling immediately in Rubicon township. Here the father engaged in farming 
upon land which he purchased and followed this occupation until his death 
which occurred in 1891. His wife survived him until April, 1903. They were 
the parents of eleven children, of whom Mrs. Klink is the eighth in order of 
birth. To Mr. and Mrs. Klink were born seven children: Aaron, whose birth 
occurred November 13, 1894; Mathias, born May 27, 1896} Eugene, born Jan- 
uary 12, 1899; Vincent, born December 14, 1901 ; Genevieve, whose natal day 
was December 30, 1904; Mary, who was born November 15, 1909; and Nicholas, 
who was born August 16, 191 1, and died in infancy. 

The family belong to the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Klink gives his al- 
legiance to the democratic party and has been active in local affairs. He has 
been serving in his present capacity only a short time but has discharged his 
duties capably and efficiently and always with kindness and consideration for the 
unfortunate and the poor, who are dependent upon him. He is a stockholder 
in the Auto Truck factory at Juneau and is interested in the growth and expan- 
sion of local enterprises. He has done able work during his short period of 
service as superintendent of the county insane asylum and poor farm and has 
demonstrated the fact that he is the right man in the right place 



DAVID K. YORGEY. 

David K. Yorgey has with the exception of a short period spent in Mil 
waukec been in the employ of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company since he 
was fifteen years of age. He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, April 
13, 1854, a son of John M. and Catherine (Davidscisor) Yorgey, both of whom 
were born in that county, the father in September, 1831. and the mother on the 
9th of April, of the same year. John M. Yorgey was a cabinet-maker by trade 
and followed this occupation in Chester county until 1858, when he came to 
Milwaukee and there worked at his trade until coming to Iloricon. Here he 
established himself in the furniture business conducting this enterprise only a 
short time, later becoming identified with the butcher business. About 1859 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



277 



he went to Pike's Peak, but eventually returned to Horicon, where he engaged 
in carpenter work. Abandoning this occupation he bought a farm near Juneau, 
which he operated and developed for three years and then returned to Horicon, 
where he was employed in a sash, door and blind .factory. When this establish- 
ment was moved to Janesville, he became identified with the Van Brunt Manu- 
facturing Company, working for them in the winter months and following his 
trade during the summers. He met his death in 1884 in an accident, the scaf- 
folding breaking under him while he was working at his trade. 

David K. Yorgey attended the public school until he was twelve years of 
age. In that year he obtained employment and supported himself, attending 
school at night as often as he was able. When he was fifteen, however, he 
definitely laid aside his books and began working in the Van Brunt factory as 
assistant cutter of sheet iron. After two years he was sent into the machine 
shop and worked in that department until 1875, when he determined to go to 
Milwaukee. Borrowing ten dollars from a friend, he made the journey and 
accepted the first position offered to him, which was that of a bus driver for 
Perkins & Reed. He continued this activity until the following October, when 
he returned to Horicon and entered the employ of the Van Brunt & Davis 
Company, where he remained until 1891. He retained his identification when 
the factory was removed to Minneapolis and when he returned to Horicon in 
1009 entered the employ of the Van Brunt Manufacturing Company as super- 
intendent of the main factory building, which position he still holds. He has 
accumulated a comfortable fortune which he has invested in local enterprises, 
owning valuable residence property in Horicon. He has also put his money 
in real estate in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he has important holdings. 

On September 10, 1879, Mr. Yorgey was united in marriage to Miss Hattie 
M. Clement, who was born in Barnston, Canada, February 9, 1855, a daughter 
of John B. and Clarissa (Clifford) Clement. John B. Clement's maternal grand- 
father, John Bellous, came from England and" served as an officer on the staff 
of General Burgoyne. The Clement family claims connection with one of the 
popes by that name. John B. Clement was born in Vermont, September 7, 181 3, 
and the mother in New Hampshire, March 16 of the following year. John B. 
Clement was a carpenter in his earlier years and followed this occupation in 
Canada until 1857, when he came to Dodge county and settled at Burnett Junc- 
tion, where he worked at his trade until 1869. In that year he went to Minne- 
sota and obtained employment as a railroad carpenter. He also took up a 
homestead claim, upon which he later moved and resided until his death, which 
occurred in March, 1910. For many years he was prominent in local politics, 
doing able work as justice of the peace. His wife passed away in 1900. In 
their family were ten children, of whom Mrs. Yorgey is the youngest. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Yorgey were born four children: Flora Bell, who resides at home; 
Katherine, who is living in Minneapolis; David K., whose death occurred Feb- 
ruary 21, 1910; and Hattie, at home. 

Mr. Yorgey is prominent in the Masonic order, holding membership in the 
lodge, chapter, commandery and shrine, and is also identified with the Order of 
the Eastern Star and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. During the forty- 
three years of his identification with the Van Brunt interests he has given to 



278 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



his employers faithful service and expert labor. His advancement has been 
rapid and his present position is one of importance. He has stood well the 
hard test of responsibility and by making good use of his talents, abilities and 
opportunities has made his life distinctly successful and his name honored and 
esteemed in the city in which he resides. 



FREDERICK HAROLD CLAUSEN. 

Frederick Harold Clausen is factory manager of the Van Brunt Manufactur- 
ing Company at Horicon and brings to the duties of his responsible position an 
energy, intelligence and a high standard of business morality which are the 
qualities upon which he has founded his success. He has held other important 
offices with the company and as a lawyer his services have been often called 
upon during the years of his identification with the enterprise. He was born 
at Fox Lake, October 22, 1875, and is a son of Henry and Lena (Christian- 
sen) Clausen. The father was born in Denmark, November 25, 1845, and 
the mother's birth occurred in Muskegon, Michigan, on the 19th of June, 1856. 

Henry Clausen left home when he was twelve years of age in order to be- 
come a sailor and spent eight years upon the ocean. He came to Milwaukee 
in 1865 and made that city his home until 1871, sailing for six years upon the 
great lakes. At the end of that time he abandoned his occupation and went 
to Fox Lake, where until 1908 he was successful in the grain business. In 
that year he retired from active life. He is one of the representative citizens 
of his community and has served a number of times as president of Fox Lake. 
He has also done able work as a member of the school board and is actively 
interested in the progress and development of his community. He and his wife 
became the parents of five children: Frederick Harold, the subject of this re- 
view; Leon, who is factory manager of the Dain Manufacturing Company of 
Ottumwa, Iowa; Harry, who passed away when he was twenty-one years of 
age, while he was still pursuing his education at the Wisconsin State Univer- 
sity; Elna, who lives at home; and one, who died in infancy. 

Frederick H. Clausen received his education in the public schools of Fox 
Lake. He later entered the University of Wisconsin, completing the historical 
and scientific course and graduating with the class of 1897. He immediately 
afterward entered the law department and received the degree of LL. B. in 
1899. He never practiced independently but became identified with the Van 
Brunt Company as attorney and private secretary to the president in the year 
following his graduation. These positions he occupied until the death of D. 
C. Van Brunt, the founder of the enterprise, who was at that time president, 
and Mr. Clausen continued his duties under W. A. Van Brunt, who succeeded 
to the office. In 1905 he was appointed advertising manager and division sales 
manager and met with his usual success in these offices until 191 1. In that 
year the company with which he was identified merged with the Deere Company 
and Mr. Clausen was appointed to the position of factory manager. He en- 
tered immediately upon his duties and in the one year of his activity has met 
with a gratifying degree of success. By efficiency in the conduct of his office 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



279 



and by business discrimination of a high order he has made his work effective 
and has been an individual force in the remarkable growth of the concern. 

On September 19, 1900, Mr. Clausen was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor 
Bliss, who was born in Ionia, Michigan, April 4, 1877, and who is a daughter 
of Adelbert M. and Margaret O. (Beattie) Bliss. The father was engaged in 
the drug business and came to Wisconsin about 1885, settling near Richland 
Center, where he followed the same occupation until 1895. In that year he 
went to Montana, where he is now operating a ranch. He and his wife were 
the parents of two children: Eleanor, the wife of our subject; and Adelbert, 
who lives in Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Clausen have been born three 
children: Margaret Nicolena, born June 19, 1903; Catherine Martha, born 
July 4, 1905; and Elna Mary, born September 15, 1909. 

Mr. Clausen is a democrat in his political beliefs and is president of the 
school board of Horicon. He is interested in education and during his term 
of office has done able and important work. He served as city attorney for 
some time, is now a member of the city council and also acts as chairman of 
the board of public works. He is a man of varied interests and has always 
kept well informed upon local questions. He is an eager promoter of any 
movement looking toward the further development and progress of his com- 
munity and his influence is always ready in a worthy cause. Although his 
connection with the Van Brunt Company has been his most important identi- 
fication, he is also serving as second vice president of the Horicon State Bank, 
and gives much of his time to his fraternal affiliations. He is a prominent 
Mason and is now senior warden of the lodge and past high priest of the chap- 
ter. He also holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
is well known in the affairs of that organization. His standards are high and 
he has never deviated from them in the course of his business career. As fac- 
tory manager he has found a field of activity entirely suited to his ambitions 
and talents. He understands factory requirements and has the faculty of ob- 
taining the cooperation of employes in a positive way. The positions which he 
has held during the course of his identification with the Van Brunt Company 
have been important and in some cases confidential and it is to his credit and 
honor that he has enjoyed the trust and confidence of his employers and of 
his business associates. 



ALBERT YOUNG. 

Albert Young, who passed away at Beaver Dam on the 16th of November, 
1894, spent his entire life in Dodge county and was successfully identified with 
general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career. His birth 
occurred in Burnett, Wisconsin, on the 16th of November, 1847.. He acquired 
his education in the public schools of Burnett and, because of the death of his 
father, early began providing for the support of his mother and the other chil- 
dren of the family, proving a devoted son to his widowed mother. He re- 
mained on the home farm at Burnett until thirty years of age, when he was 
married and took up his abode on a farm at Fox Lake. At the end of four 



•280 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



years, however, he returned to Burnett, where he purchased one hundred and 
thirty acres of land, cultivating the same until 1888, when he came to Beaver 
Dam. Here he spent the remainder of his life. 

On the 26th of December, 1877, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Miss 
Sophia D. Weigart, who was born in April, 1861, her parents being John and 
Eliza (Quamnan) Weigart. Her father is still living in his eighty-sixth year, 
while her mother was called to her final rest when seventy-seven years of age. 
Mr. and Mrs. Young had three children, as follows: Lillian, who is the wife 
of Ernest Schultz ; Edwin G., who is a resident of Greeley, Colorado ; and Car- 
rie M., who died at the age of twenty-two years. 

Mr. Young gave his political allegiance to the republican party, while fra- 
ternally he was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his 
passing the community lost one of its substantial and esteemed citizens. His 
widow survives and makes her home in Beaver Dam, where she has an exten- 
sive circle of friends. 



George W. Kuhaupt is proprietor of a cement block factory in Horicon, a 
fully equipped manufacturing plant and one of the important industrial insti- 
tutions of the village. His able management of the affairs of this large enter- 
prise and his position as its head give him a place among representative busi- 
ness men and rank him as an individual force in industrial expansion. He was 
born in Ehringen, Kreis Wolfhagen, Hesse-Nassau, Germany, April 9, 1846, 
a son of John and Marie (Ise) Kuhaupt, natives of that place. The father was 
born in 1816 and the mother on November 28, of the same year. The great- 
grandfather of our subject was a member of the Hessian forces, who aided the 
British in the American Revolution and was eight years under the direction of 
the English government. John Kuhaupt, the father of our subject, was a tailor 
in his native country and followed that line of occupation until his death, which 
occurred in the year 1852. In 1867 his wife came with part of her family to 
America, locating near Schleisingerville, Wisconsin, where she resided until 
1879 and then moved to Addison, where she died in the fall of 1905, when she 
was eighty-nine years of age. 

George W. Kuhaupt was educated in the public schools of Germany and 
was twenty years of age when he came to America, one year in advance of his 
mother. For six years he worked at the mason's trade, which he had learned 
in Germany, in Schleisingerville and then followed the same occupation for 
four years in Germantown. Returning to Schleisingerville. he worked at his 
trade until 1879, moving from there to Addison township, Washington county, 
where in partnership with his brother he conducted a feed store and sawmill 
until 1906, when he came to Horicon and purchased twenty acres of land within 
the city limits, upon which he erected his cement block factory, which he has 
operated since that time. He manufactures all kinds of cement products, in- 
cluding burial vaults and porch pillars and has an excellent modern plant fully 



GEORGE WILLIAM KUHAUPT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



281 



equipped with the most up-to-date appliances. The work produced in this 
factory is artistic and valuable and brings high prices in the Wisconsin markets, 
where it has a ready sale. 

In November, 1870, Mr. Kuhaupt was united in marriage to Miss Sophia 
Ise, who was born in Schleisingerville on the 22d of October, 1847, * daughter 
of William and Catherine (Komalein) Ise, natives of Germany, who came to 
America in 1847, settling near Schleisingerville on a farm upon which both 
died. The mother passed away in 1902, when she was eighty-one years of age 
and the father's death occurred in 1903, in the ninety-third year of his- age. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhaupt have four children: George, who is now station agent at 
Antioch, Illinois; William, who resides with his parents; Martha, who is the 
wife of Edward Meier, in the employ of the Miller Brewing Company at Mil- 
waukee; and Anna, who married Otto Webber, of Horicon. 

Mr. Kuhaupt gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He is 
well known in the affairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding 
membership in Horicon Lodge, No. 87. He has that claim to prominence in 
business circles of the city which lies in the building up of a modern, thor- 
oughly equipped and rapidly expanding commercial enterprise. 



JOHN M. ROHDE. 

John M. Rohde, engaged in general agricultural pursuits, is owner of a 
tract of land of eighty acres on section 16, Oak Grove township, comprising one 
of the best improved farms in the township. His birth occurred in Mecklen- 
burg-Schwerin, Germany, on the 28th of October, 1849, his parents being John 
and Dorothy (Pultz) Rohde, who were likewise natives of that place. The 
father served as a soldier in the regular army in Germany. About 1872 he 
emigrated to the United States with his family, settling near Hartford, Wash- 
ington county, Wisconsin, where he made his home for about five years and 
worked for others. Subsequently he spent five years on a rented farm near 
Juneau and then took up his abode on the farm of his son, John, near Oak Grove, 
spending the remainder of his life among his children. He passed away about 
1896, while his wife was called to her final rest about 1900. 

John M. Rohde obtained his education in the schools of the fatherland 
and after putting aside his text-books worked in the employ of others. He ac- 
companied his parents on their emigration to the new world when a young man 
of twenty-three years and in this state spent about two years as a farm hand. 
Subsequently he operated a rented farm for about ten years and on the expira-* 
tion of that period purchased a tract of eighty acres adjoining the city limits of 
Juneau, the further cultivation and improvement of which has claimed his at- 
tention to the present time. The property is well improved in every particular, 
the buildings thereon being modern and up-to-date and furnishing ample shelter 
for grain and stock. In the operation of this farm Mr. Rohde has won a grati- 
fying measure of success, his well tilled fields yielding golden harvests as a 
reward for the care and labor which he bestows upon them. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On the 5th of November, 1880, Mr. Rohde was united in marriage to Miss 
Bertha Gerfen, who was born in the province of Pommern, Germany, on the 
1st of January, 1859, her parents being William and Johanna (Hayes) Ger- 
fen, likewise natives of that province. The father's birth occurred on the 10th 
of February, 1839, while the mother's natal' day was January 12, 1840. About 
1865 they crossed the Atlantic to the United States, settling near Hustisford, 
this county. A short time later they took up their abode on a rented farm near 
Juneau and afterward purchased a tract of land near Oak Grove. William 
Gerfen was living retired at Watertown at the time of his demise, which oc- 
curred in 1910. His wife had passed away in Juneau about 1898. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Rohde have been born ten children, as follows: Lydia, born Novem- 
ber 5, 1885, who is the wife of Henry Lyndemeyer, a farmer of Clyman town- 
ship; Clara, whose birth occurred on the 21st of March, 1887, and who passed 
away on the 2d of May, 1892; William, whose natal day was March 10, 1889; 
Herbert, who was born on the 5th of May, 1890, and who is a mechanic by 
trade; Albert, born May 28, 1892; Esther, whose birth occurred on the 14th 
of July, 1894; Edwin, born July 13, 1896; Jessie, born September 19, 1898; 
Reuben, born June 19, 1900; and Benjamin, born December 9, 1902. The last 
eight named are still under the parental roof. 

In politics Mr. Rohde is a stanch republican but his aspirations have not 
been in the line of office holding. His religious faith is indicated by his mem- 
bership in the Evangelical church at Juneau. Coming to the new world in 
early manhood, he wisely utilized the opportunities offered and has steadily 
worked his way upward to a position among the prosperous agriculturists 
and respected citizens of his home community. 



The legal circles of <Mayville find a worthy representative in the person 
of E. H. Naber, whose birth here occurred on the 4th of August, 1877. He is 
a son of the late Gerhard and Anna (Ruedebusch) Naber, natives of Germany. 
The father emigrated to the United States in the early '50s, locating just out- 
side the city limits. There he pursued the career of an agriculturist until a 
few years prior to his death, which occurred in 1907, at the venerable age of 
seventy-seven years. He was survived by the mother, who passed away in 
1909. They were married in America and to them were born four children, of 
whom our subject is the youngest. 

Reared at home E. H. Naber was educated in the public schools of May- 
ville. Upon his graduation from the high school, he taught in the district schools 
of Dodge county for three years. Having resolved to become an attorney he 
went to Milwaukee and entered the office of McElroy & Eschwciler, where he 
pursued his professional studies. He subsequently engaged in court reporting 
in that city for three years, and at the expiration of that period, in 1904. re- 
turned to Mayville, purchasing the law practice of Frank Lawrence. Three 
years later he formed a partnership with the late F. M. Lawrence, with whom 



E. H. NABER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



283 



he was associated in practice until the latter was elected to the office of county 
judge. In 1910, he became a partner of G. C. Wheeler, with whom he is still 
connected. Mr. Naber engages in a general practice, and as he is conscientious as 
a counselor and painstaking and cautious in the preparation of his cases, has 
acquired a reputation in the community, through his simple and practical man- 
ner of solving legal problems, which inspires confidence in his clients, who trust 
him implicitly. He is building up a permanent and profitable clientage, and 
has every reason to feel gratified with his professional success. For several 
years he was city attorney, and in the discharge of his official duties met the 
approval of his constituency by reason of his general efficiency, prompt action 
and decisive measures. 

Fraternally Mr. Naber has attained high rank in the Masonic order, hold- 
ing membership in Vesper Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M. ; Horicon Chapter, No. 
24, R. A. M. ; Fond du Lac Commandery, No. 5, K. T. ; and Beaver Dam Coun- 
cil, R. & S. M. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, being 
a member of the Mayville Camp, while he maintains relations with his fellow 
practitioners through the medium of his connection with the State Bar and 
American Bar Associations. Mr. Naber is one of the popular and esteemed citi- 
zens of the town, where he has many friends the majority of whom have known 
him from childhood. 



JOHN A. LOOMANS, D. D. S. 

Dr. John A. Loomans is one of the well known and successful dentists of 
Waupun, in which city occurred his birth on June 28, 1878. He is a son of 
William and Mary (Landaal) Loomans, both of whom are natives of Alto, 
Wisconsin, and celebrated their marriage in 1864. The father, in company with 
W. E. Caldwell, was engaged in the lumber business. He is now deceased, 
having passed away in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Loomans are the parents of five 
children, as follows: Alice, deceased; John A., of this review; George, a prac- 
ticing dentist of Menasha, Wisconsin ; Charles, who has passed away ; and Lil- 
lian, at home. 

John A. Loomans was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools of Waupun. He later completed the required course in den- 
tistry in the Chicago Dental College, from which institution he was graduated 
with the degree of D. D. S. in the class of 1901. Immediately following his 
graduation he engaged in the practice of his profession in Waupun, to' which 
he has since devoted his attention, and is numbered among the up-to-date and 
successful practitioners in his chosen field of work in the city. He is a mem- 
ber of the Wisconsin Dental Society and also a member of the Fox River Val- 
ley Dental Society. 

Dr. Loomans was united in marriage on October 20, 1004, to Miss Eva 
Gamble, who was born in Trenton, Wisconsin, June 30, 1877, and is a daugh- 
ter of William and Sarah (McLyman) Gamble, who were natives of New York 
and settled in Wisconsin fifty years ago. Dr. and Mrs. Loomans are the par- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ents of two children: Sarah Lillian, who was born June 10, 1908; and Jessie 
L., who was born November at, 1910. Dr. Loomans is affiliated with the re- 
publican party and he and his wife are members of the Congregational church. 
He has met with gratifying success in the practice of his profession in the city 
of his birth and is a man who readily gives his assistance to the advancement 
of every laudable public measure intended to improve the conditions of the 
people in his county and state. 



FRANK J. McCALL. 

Frank J. McCall is one of the prominent and successful business men of- 
Richwood, where he conducts a general store and saloon, and he is also ex- 
tensively interested in farm property in Shields township. He is a son of one 
of the earliest Wisconsin pioneers and was born upon the Stone Wall grain farm, 
which he now owns, December 10, 1865. His father, Edward McCall, was 
a native of Ireland and grew to maturity in that country. When he came to 
America he settled first in New York state and there resided for a number of 
years. Later, however, he moved west and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, 
in the early period of its development. He made the first journey into the state 
alone and after observing the conditions entered a claim to forty acres of land. 
Returning to New York, he brought his wife and family and with them set- 
tled upon this tract which was then covered with a dense growth of timber. 
He cleared a small space and upon it erected a log cabin, in which he resided 
while he carried on the work of further development and cultivation. As his 
financial resources grew he added to his holdings and owned at one time two 
hundred acres, upon which he made substantial improvements, building a fine 
residence, good barns, granaries and other outbuildings. He gradually became 
prosperous and successful and was recognized as one of the most able and rep- 
representative agriculturists in Dodge county at the time of his death, which 
occurred in June, 1902, at the advanced age of ninety-seven. He married, in 
New York. Miss Anna Kelly, also a native of Ireland. Her death occurred in 
1896, some years previous to that of her husband. 

Frank J. McCall is the youngest of a family of nine children, eight of whom 
are still living. He was reared upon the homestead and received his educa- 
tion in the public schools. When not engaged with his books he aided in the 
farm work and thus at an ealy age gained experience in agricultural details and 
methods. After his father's death he inherited the homestead and successfully 
carried' forward the work of development and cultivation for a number of 
years. His progressive and practical methods won him rapid prosperity and he 
became known as one of the leading farmers in the district. In 1904 he rented 
his farm out and removed to Richwood, where he purchased a business house 
and saloon. Later he added a dry-goods department and a stock of groceries 
and has since become prosperous and successful as a general merchant. His 
patronage has steadily grown, for his enterprise is capably conducted and his 
stock kept complete and up-to-date. His straightforward business methods 
are well known and have had a direct influence upon his prosperity. Mr. McCall 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



is also active as auctioneer throughout this section of the county and his ser- 
vices in that line are in great demand, as his work is effective and obtains results. 

In Shields township, November 23, 1892, Mr. McCall was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary McCaig, a sister of H. J. McCaig, of whom further mention 
is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. McCall have eight children, 
George W., Francis J., Edward A., Loretta Ann, Grace M., Margaret F., Isa- 
bella Lucile and Leo. M. The family are devout adherents of the Roman 
Catholic religion and are regular attendants at St. Joseph's church in Richwood. 

Mr. McCall gives his allegiance to the democratic party and has always 
taken an active and prominent part in public affairs. While still upon his farm 
he was elected a member of the township board and served for four years as 
chairman of the board. At the end of that time he resigned He has since done 
active and effective work as supervisor and has been a delegate to many county 
and state conventions. At the present time he is justice of the peace in Shields 
township and is in the eighth consecutive year of his service. He brings to the 
discharge of his official duties the same energy, conscientiousness and enter- 
prise which have made his business career successful and his various activities 
have combined to make him one of the best known and most representative men 
in Dodge county. 



CARL PAUTSCH. 

Carl Pautsch, a retired agriculturist residing on section 34, Chester town- 
ship, came to this county more than a half century ago and was long and actively 
identified with farming interests here. His birth occurred in Zettig, district of 
Wolkov, Pommern, Prussia, on the 27th of June, 1831, his parents being Gott- 
lieb and Fredericka (Wendt) Pautsch, the latter likewise a native of Pommern. 
The male representatives of the family were shepherds in Germany. Gottlieb 
Pautsch, who was born in 1791, passed away in the year 1874. In 1856 he 
crossed the Atlantic to the United States, coming direct to Mayville, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and here followed farming throughout the remainder of 
his life. Unto him and his wife were born ten children, six of whom died in 
early life. The others were as follows: August, who passed away in Trenton 
township, Dodge county ; Carl, of this review ; Fred, who is a resident of Good 
Thunder, Minnesota; and Gustave, deceased, who participated in the Civil 
war as a member of the Fifty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. 

Carl Pautsch was a soldier in the Prussian army for three years and was 
still in the service when in 1856 his father and three brothers emigrated to 
America. In 1857 he, too, crossed the Atlantic to the new world and, in asso- 
ciation with his father and brother, August, purchased fifty acres of land in 
this county for eight hundred dollars. The sixteen members of the Pautsch 
family here then took up their abode in a log house which stood upon the place, 
the dimensions of which were sixteen by twenty feet. Our subject and his 
brothers were employed by the month at a wage of fifty cents per day and also 
cleared their own land. In i860 they erected a gravel house and subsequently 
built a residence on an eighty-acre tract which they had purchased in 1861. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



after disposing of the original farm of fifty acres. In 1863 they divided the 
farm of eighty acres between themselves, and three years later Carl Pautsch 
purchased a tract of twenty acres adjoining his place. In 1873 he disposed 
of his farm of sixty acres, purchasing and locating upon a tract of one hundred 
and sixty acres in Chester township, while two years later he bought an ad- 
joining place of eighty acres across the road. He erected all the necessary 
buildings on the property and continued to operate the same until 1903, when he 
put aside the active work of the fields. In addition to this he also purchased 
land for his sons or gave them the necessary capital with which to buy farms. 
The home place is now in possession of his son, Edward. The prosperity which 
he enjoys has come as the merited reward of a life of well directed labor and 
his record may well serve to illustrate the power of perseverance and industry 
in the attainment of success. 

On the 26th of January, 1857, in Germany, Mr. Pautsch was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Johanna F. Zuhlsdorf, who was born on the 1st of October, 1836, 
and passed away on the 10th of November, 1910. Her father, Conrad Zuhls- 
dorf, was a native of Pommern, Germany, and became a farmer and land- 
owner of that country, in which he spent his entire life. He had six chil- 
dren, two of whom came to America, namely : Mrs. Johanna Pautsch ; and 
Sophia, the wife of William Wrucke, of Good Thunder, Minnesota. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Pautsch were born twelve children, as follows: Emilie, the widow of 
William Witte, of Trenton township, Dodge county; Johanna, who is the wife 
of Fred Witte and lives in Chester township; William F., a resident of Wau- 
pun, Wisconsin; Mary, who is the widow of Herman Schliefert and resides in 
Manley, Nebraska; August C, living in Manley, Nebraska; Louis C, who 
makes his home in Juneau, this county; Wilhelmina, who died at the age of 
eleven years; Ida M., the wife of Herman Detlaff, of Glenburn, North Da- 
kota ; Herman A., of Chester township ; Martha, the wife of William Rehwin- 
kel, of Louisville, Nebraska; Edward F., of Chester township; and Anton E., 
who also makes his home in Chester township. The parents celebrated their 
golden wedding in 1907 and all of their children were with them on that occa- 
sion. 

In politics Mr. Pautsch is a democrat and for thirteen years held the office 
of assessor in his township. He acts as steward in Immanuel's Lutheran church 
at Burnett and takes a deep and helpful interest in church work. He has 
passed the eighty-first milestone on this early pilgrimage and is accorded the 
high regard in public opinion that should ever be given one of advanced years 
whose life has been worthily spent. 



A native of Dodge county and the son of one of its most prominent pioneers 
and at the present time active and successful in the development of one hundred 
acres of land on section 2, Shields township, is Joseph J. Plasil, who was born 
in Watertown, May 3, 1865. His father, Joseph Flasil, was a native of Bohe- 
mia and grew to maturity in that country. Influenced by the hope of a bet- 



JOSEPH J. PLASIL. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



•287 



ter fortune in America, he crossed the Atlantic in 1861 and landed in Maryland, 
where for some time during the Civil war he engaged in teaming in the gov- 
ernment service. In 1863, however, he" left Maryland and journeyed westward 
to Wisconsin, locating in Watertown, where he worked at carpentering, which 
he had learned in Bohemia, and at any other work which would add to his in- 
come. Being thrifty, ambitious and energetic he saved out of his earnings 
enough money to buy forty acres of land and this now constitutes a part of the 
family homestead. When it came into Mr. Plasil's possession it was a tract of 
uncultivated timber land and not an acre had been under the plow. With char- 
acteristic energy he cleared the trees from a small space and with the lumber cut 
down built a log house in which he made his home. Acre by acre he extended 
the work of development and finally had his entire farm cleared and improved. 
Gradually he bought more land and finally owned two hundred and ten acres. 
Upon this property he erected a fine modern residence to replace his log cabin, 
built a good barn and other substantial outbuildings and made general improve- 
ments about the place. He planted a number of acres in orchard and carried 
on general farming and stock-raising with great success until his death, in 1895, 
when he was seventy-three years of age. His widow, who was in her maiden- 
hood Miss Barbara Kutchers, survives him and has reached the age of seventy- 
six. She makes her home with her son, Frank F. Plasil, a sketch of whom 
appears elsewhere in this work. 

Joseph J. Plasil grew up on his father's farm and when He was little more 
than a child assisted in the hard work of clearing the timber and grubbing up 
stumps. He remained upon the homestead until after his father's death and 
carried forward the work of development. After his marriage, which occurred 
in 1902, he settled on his present farm, which constitutes one hundred acres 
of fertile and productive land. At this time very little of the property was im- 
proved and the only building upon it was a dilapidated house. Mr. Plasil, 
however, erected a substantial, two-story modern dwelling and began to im- 
prove and cultivate the soil. At the present time most of the land is cleared 
and under cultivation and the excellent condition of the farm shows the owner's 
careful supervision. He has built a fine barn with a good basement, has erected 
a silo and made other general improvements. He gives his attention to gen- 
eral farming and specializes in dairying, keeping a fine herd of cows for this 
purpose. An important branch of his activities is stock-raising, in which he 
is extensively engaged, breeding and fattening for the market fine grades of 
Holstein cattle. As Mr. Plasil's farming operations have succeeded he has 
extended his interests and become connected with the business life of his sec- 
tion. He was one of the promoters of the Liberty Cheese & Butter Association 
and is a stockholder and treasurer of the controlling company. 

In IQ02 Mr. Plasil married in Shields township Miss Anna Dobyschek, who 
was born in Bohemia and who came with her parents to Wisconsin when she 
was four years of age. She was reared and educated in Dodge county and re- 
mained at home until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Plasil have four children, 
Agnes, Paul, Barbara and John. The family are devout adherents of the Catho- 
lic religion and attend St. Joseph's church in Richwood. 

Mr. Plasil's farming has been practical and productive of good results. He 
stands steadily for progress in standards and improvement in methods and has 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



upon his property all equipment and accessories necessary to the conduct of 
a modern farm. By well directed and persevering work he has attained suc- 
cess which has not only made him prosperous but also constitutes an element 
in the general agricultural development of this section. 



Delmont Frank Fletcher, an enterprising and progressive agriculturist of 
Chester township, is busily engaged in the operation of a farm of one hundred 
and forty-six acres. His birth occurred in Hustisford, Dodge county, on the 22d 
of June, 1880, his parents being Charles Nelson and Abby Ann (Ryder) 
Fletcher. The father was born in this county on the 4th of March, 185 1, while 
the mother's birth occurred at Hustisford, Wisconsin, in 1857. The maternal 
grandparents of our subject, Frank and Mary (Van Blarkin) Ryder, became 
early settlers of Dodge county, and the former was engaged in business as a 
merchant of Hustisford for some time. Daniel Fletcher, the paternal grand- 
father, was a native of Canada who came to the United States and settled in 
New York, securing employment in a woolen factory. Subsequently he came 
to Dodge count/, Wisconsin, settling near Hustisford, where he entered land 
from the government and spent the remainder of his life. His prominence in 
public affairs is indicated in the fact that at one time he served as assemblyman 
from his district. 

Charles N. Fletcher, the father of Delmont F. Fletcher, was born and reared 
on his father's farm in this county. On attaining his majority he purchased 
land of his own near Hustisford, cultivating the same for a period of eighteen 
or twenty years. At the end of that time he sold the property and took up his 
abode on the farm of one hundred and forty-six acres which is now in posses- 
sion of his widow, continuing to reside thereon until called to his final rest in 
August, 1905. He had spent his entire life within the borders of Dodge county 
and in his passing the community lost one of its substantial agriculturists and 
respected citizens. It was at Hustisford that he wedded Miss Abby Ann Ryder, 
who is still living and makes her home in Waupun. She has also remained in 
this county from her birth to the present time and enjoys an extensive and favor- 
able acquaintance here. Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. Fletcher were the parents 
of three sons and a daughter, as follows: Grace, who is the wife of W. S. 
Blunt, a practicing physician of Waupun; Harry Nelson and Robert C, who are 
also residents of Waupun; and Delmont Frank, of this review. 

The last named obtained his education in the schools of Hustisford and 
Waupun, completing his studies at the latter place. After putting aside his 
text-books he turned his attention to the work of the home farm and from 
that time to the present has devoted his energies to its operation, now renting 
the property from his mother. His fields have been brought to a high state of 
productivity, and everything about his homestead is suggestive of thrift and 
a careful regard for details that is indicative of capable and intelligent 
management. 



DELMONT FRANK FLETCHER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



289 



Delmont F. Fletcher specializes in raising cabbage and was one of the first 
growers of this vegetable in this section. He has recently erected a cabbage 
store house of six hundred tons capacity in Waupun, in partnership with his 
brothers, which is the first of its kind in this district. 

In June, 1907, Mr. Fletcher was united in marriage to Miss Martha Ann 
Tucker, a daughter of Moses and Anna Tucker, who were natives of Ohio and 
came to Wisconsin in the early days. The father was a mason by trade. After 
the Civil war, in which he had participated, his health failed and he was em- 
ployed by the state in the prison at Waupun. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have one 
child, Charles Plympton, whose birth occurred in November, 1909. 

Mr. Fletcher is republican in his political views but not blindly partisan, con- 
sidering the fitness of a candidate as of more importance than his party affilia- 
tion. His wife is a devoted and consistent member of the Episcopal church. 
His life has been upright and honorable in all of its relations and he is widely 
recognized as a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of this 
county. 



OTTO F. SCHWEFEL. 

Well over fifty years ago a little band of seven Germans left Milwaukee 
and came on foot to Lebanon township where each located a claim and upon 
it built a small log cabin. Returning to Milwaukee they joined their families 
and in the spring of the following year came with them overland, driving ox 
teams. They brought with them their household goods, provisions, and a few 
primitive farm implements and established in Lebanon township a German 
community which has grown to be one of the finest and most prosperous in the 
state. They were the first white settlers in the section and had only Indians 
for neighbors with whom they lived on friendly terms for many years. 
Gradually they became successful — fine examples of the best types of Wiscon- 
sin pioneers. The grandson of one of this little band, Otto F. Schwefel, is 
living upon one hundred and fifteen acres on section 20, Lebanon township 
and is regarded as one of the representative farmers of his section. He was 
born in the district in which he now resides, July 28, 1876, a son of William 
and Wilhelmina (Heilman) Schwefel, the former a native of Germany and 
the latter of Wisconsin. The father came to America when he was seven years 
of age, making the journey with his parents in 1843. When the grandfather of 
our subject came to Wisconsin William Schwefel accompanied him and grew 
to manhood in this section. Eventually he inherited the homestead and upon 
this carried on general agricultural pursuits until his death. He was one of the 
early settlers in Lebanon township and well known in democratic politics in 
which he took an active part, serving in various county and township offices. 
He was among the founders of the first church built in this section by the adher- 
ents of the Evangelical Lutheran religion. He died August 19, 1906, and the 
mother of our subject passed away June 18, 1878. Both are buried in I^banon 
cemetery. 

William Schwefel was twice married and the subject of this sketch is the 
youngest in a family of six children born to his first union. He received his 
education in the district and parochial schools and for one year attended the 



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290 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



normal school at Whitewater. He remained with his father upon the farm 
until 1903 when he moved to his present property, comprising one hundred and 
fifteen acres of productive land. Here he does general farming and stock- 
raising, breeding graded Holstein cattle and pure-blooded Chester White hogs. 
He also specializes in the breeding and raising of Belgium hares and is actively 
interested in this branch of his activities. He operates a model sanitary dairy, 
milking fifteen cows daily and selling his product to the neighboring cheese fac- 
tory. Eighty acres of his land are under cultivation and the rest is in marsh 
and wood land. The principal products of his farm are hay and grain, all of 
which he feeds to his stock. In 1903 he erected a modern barn, ninety feet 
by thirty-eight feet, with cement floors throughout and equipped with wooden 
stanchions. Mr. Schwefel resides in a pleasant brick residence upon his prop- 
erty and delights in being surrounded by his many friends. He is one of the 
best known and most intelligently active men of his section and is interested 
in various important local enterprises. He has been secretary for the past six 
years of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Lebanon township and 
is a stockholder in the new Farmers and Citizens State Bank of Watcrtown. 

In 1903 Otto F. Schwefel married Miss Paulina Braunschweik, a daughter of 
Ludwig and Caroline (Titez) Braunschweik. Her grandparents came to Leb- 
anon township from Germany in 1845, anQ " representatives of the family have 
been living here since that time. Mrs. Schwefel is the seventh in a family of 
eleven children and was born September 12, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Schwefel have 
five children : Helen, who died when she was six years of age ; Ernst ; Elda ; 
Gustave; and Alice. 

Otto Schwefel is active and prominent in democratic politics and is serving 
his sixth year as justice of the peace. For three years he did able and con- 
stanchions. Mr. Schwefel resides in a pleasant brick residence upon his prop- 
years, bringing to his public life the same intelligent discrimination, integrity, 
and unquestioned honor, which have made his business life useful and pros- 
perous. 



WALTER E. WARREN. 

When Walter E. Warren died in Fox Lake, May 2, 1905, agricultural interests 
of Dodge county and the business interests of the city lost a conspicuously 
worthy representative. He was a native son of Trenton township and all his 
work and energies were steadily directed toward the growth and advancement 
of his section, so that he was justly entitled to the place which he held among 
the men who influence general activity. He was born March 8, 1859, and was 
a son of George and Mary E. (West) Warren, natives of New York state, who 
came to Wisconsin in 1848 and settled in Trenton, Dodge county, where the 
father died in 1900. His wife passed away in Fox Lake in 1904. 

Waltei E. Warren was the fourth in a family of five children. He received 
his education in the district schools of Trenton and Fox Lake townships and 
in the Downer College at Fox Lake. After he left this institution he went to 
Wayland University, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, thus completing an excellent 



Digitized by Google 



W. E. WARREN 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



education. For some years afterward he remained with his parents on their 
farm, which was known as the Laurel Hill stock farm, and became a partner 
with his father in the operation of this enterprise. All of his time was given 
to the management of the farm until 1900, when he moved to Fox Lake and 
became connected with the business life of the town. His ability and force of 
character soon drew him into important relations with large enterprises, among 
which may be mentioned the Warren & Pettegrew Gas Company, an enterprise 
which was organized in 1903 and with which Mr. Warren was closely identified 
until his death in 1905. He owned also a great deal of valuable city property, 
for his investments had always been judicious, and he was besides the proprietor 
of fine tracts of farm land in northern Wisconsin. 

On the 1 8th of October, 1886, Mr. Warren married Miss Matie Gillette, a 
daughter of Robert Arthur and Sarah (Turner) Gillette, the former a native 
of Ohio and the latter of Maine. They were early settlers in Tomah and made 
that section their home for a number of years. Mrs. Gillette died there but her 
husband passed away in Fox Lake. Mrs. Warren is the second in a family of 
five children and was born October 31, 1864. She and her husband became the 
parents of two daughters. Inez was born in 1888 and received her education 
in the public and district schools of Trenton and Fox Lake townships. She is 
a graduate of Way land Academy of Beaver Dam and she later attended the 
University of Wisconsin at Madison for two years. Mary Edith was born in 
i88t<. She attended the district and public schools of Trenton and Fox Lake 
townships and was graduated from the Grand Prairie Seminary at Onarga, 
Illinois, in 1910. The family give their allegiance to the First Baptist church 
of Fox Lake, which Mr. Warren attended during his life. 

Mr. Warren voted the prohibition ticket and was interested in the spread and 
growth of the prohibition movement. He was prominent in the Masonic order, 
his only fraternal affiliation. His business interests included his connection with 
the George Warren Company Bank, of Warrens, Wisconsin, of which he was a 
stockholder and vice president, and some of his time was given to the manage- 
ment of this enterprise and his extensive property holdings. He died at the 
age of forty-six, cut off in the prime of his career, but his prosperity had 
already reached gratifying proportions. It is hard to estimate the value of the 
work he would have done had he had time to complete it, but some idea of the 
high place which he occupied in the respect and esteem of his associates and 
friends may be gained from the expressions of widespread regret which attended 
his death and which was a genuine tribute of sorrow at the close of a worthy life. 



FRANK S. BAUER. 

Frank S. Bauer, a well known citizen and enterprising merchant of Lcroy, 
is numbered among the worthy native sons of Dodge county who have remained 
within its borders and have here won success and prosperity. His birth oc- 
curred in Lcroy township on the 9th of July, 1856, his parents being Frank and 
Katharine (Bruner) Bauer, natives of Bayern, Germany. The father was born 

on the 10th of August, 1826, while the mother's natal day was October 30, 
voi n— it 



294 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1831. They were representatives of old Bayern families, whose male members 
followed farming there. Frank Bauer emigrated to the United States in 1851, 
remaining in the state of New York for two years and working on a farm. 
He landed on American soil with a cash capital of two dollars and a half and 
secured employment at a wage of five dollars per month. In 1853 he came to 
Leroy township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and took up a tract of forty acres 
of government land, clearing the timber therefrom and improving the property 
generally. Disposing of the place, he purchased a farm of one hundred and 
eight acres and continued its operation until 1884, when he retired to the village 
of Leroy, where he passed away in 1898, after a residence of forty-five years 
in this county. The success which crowned his efforts came as the direct re- 
ward of his industry and perseverance, for he came to the new world empty- 
handed and worked his way upward unaided. It was in 1853 that he wedded 
Katharine Bruner, a daughter of Michael Bruner, who was a native of Bayern, 
Germany, and followed the profession of teaching in that country. He emi- 
grated to the United States in 1851 and here also taught school and engaged 
in farming. He was the father of two children : Mrs. Katharine Bauer, whose 
demise occurred on the 2d of October, 1903 ; and Maria, who is the widow of 
Joseph Greiner and lives in Mayville. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bauer had six 
children, as follows: Katharine, the wife of Joseph Wittman, of Watkins, 
Minnesota; Frank S., of this review; Joseph, who makes his home in Leroy 
township; Mary, the wife of Martin Wittman, of Byron, Wisconsin; and 
Amelia and John, who died in infancy. 

Frank S. Bauer, whose name introduces this review, attended the parochial 
and district schools in the acquirement of an education and after putting aside 
his text-books assisted his father in the operation of the home farm. In 1879, 
when a young man of twenty-three years, he started out in the business world 
on his own account, buying grain at Knowles, Wisconsin, where he erected an 
elevator and built the first house. He also served as the first postmaster of 
that town. Three years later he was made agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee 
& St. Paul Railroad Company at that point, capably discharging the duties de- 
volving upon him in that connection for a period of eighteen years. He like- 
wise opened and conducted a general merchandise store at Knowles. In 1900 
he abandoned station work and opened up a stone quarry, operating the same 
for four years and then selling it to the Nast Brothers. In the meantime, in 
1901, he removed his stock of general merchandise to Leroy, where he erected 
a store building and residence and has since remained in business. He carries 
a large and well selected line of goods at reasonable prices and a liberal patron- 
age is accorded him in recognition of his straightforward and reliable business 
dealings. In the conduct of the store he is ably assisted by his wife, who is a 
woman of excellent business ability and a good manager, and who, in connec- 
tion with the store, conducts a millinery establishment. 

It was on the 14th of January, 1879, that Mr. Bauer was united in marriage 
to Miss Anna C. Schmid, who was born on the 1st of November, 1859, her 
parents being George and Maria F. (Greiner) Schmid, natives of Regensburg, 
Bayern, Germany. George Schmid came of a family of brewers. In 1853 he 
crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating first in Milwaukee, Wiscon- 
sin, where he secured employment in a brewery. In i8<;4 he came to Lerov. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



295 



erected a brewery and conducted the same until the time of his retirement in 
1892. His demise occurred in 1903. He was married at Milwaukee in 1854 
and became the father of ten children, namely : George, who died at Leroy in 
1902 ; Mary, the wife of Peter Buelsbach, of Chicago ; Mrs. Anna Bauer ; Eliza- 
beth, who gave her hand in marriage to J. N. Schraufnagel, of Leroy town- 
ship ; Barbara, who passed away at the age of fourteen years ; Joseph, who died 
at Chicago in 1904; Matilda, the wife of John Strasser, of Leroy; Caroline, the 
wife of Anton Hoffman, of Leroy; Alois, who is engaged in business as a mer- 
chant at Lomira, Wisconsin; and Maximilian, a priest, who died in 1905. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Bauer have been born eleven children, two of whom died in in- 
fancy. The others are as follows : Frank, who died when four years of age ; 
Edwin, a merchant of Milwaukee, who wedded Lucy Wild and has four chil- 
dren; Dorothy, the wife of P. J. Zehren, of Split Rock, Wisconsin, by whom 
she has three children ; Frank J., who wedded Miss Ella Schingen and lives in 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Lucy, the wife of Bernhard Mauel, of Split Rock, 
Wisconsin ; and Leonora, Anna, Armand and George, all of whom are at home. 

Mr. Bauer is a democrat in his political views and was honored by election 
to the state assembly in 1905 and again in 1907, justifying the confidence of 
his constituents during two terms of able service in that body. He belongs to 
the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and is a devout communicant of St. Andrew's 
church, of which his wife and children are also members. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Bauer are widely known throughout the county in which they have spent their 
entire lives, and their many excellent traits of heart and mind have gained for 
them a wide circle of acquaintances and a host of warm friends. 



LOUIS J. SIMON, M. D. 

Dr. Louis J. Simon is giving his attention to the general practice of medicine 
in Horicon and is ranked among the most progressive, able and practical phy- 
sicians in the village. He is a native of Wisconsin, born in Fond du Lac county, 
April 13, 1883, a son of Jacob and Mary (Schneider) Simon, both natives of 
Prussia, Germany, where the father was born, January 15, 1840, and the mother, 
December 8, 1842. Jacob Simon came to America with his parents when he 
was only six years of age and settled with them in Fond du Lac county on a 
farm upon which he grew to maturity. He eventually became an extensive land 
owner in that section and carried on general agricultural pursuits. He has now 
abandoned the active work of the fields but still resides upon a farm in Fond 
du Lac county, making his home with his son. He has become prominent and 
important in the public affairs of the section in which he resides and has held 
various important township offices. 

Dr. Simon is the twelfth in a family of fourteen children. He was educated 
in the district schools of Fond du Lac county and in the high school of the city 
of Fond du Lac. After completing his preliminary studies he entered the medi- 
cal department of the University of Illinois, graduating with the degree of M. D. 
in 1908. He came immediately to Horicon and opened an office in the city where 
he has since gained prominence in his chosen field. He has a broad knowledge of 



296 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the general principles which underly the science of medicine and is capable of 
making this knowledge practically effective. He has been taught in a modern 
age and has made use of the most modern methods and systems, broadening 
his knowledge by constant reading. In consequence his practice has increased as 
he has become better known and has attained gratifying proportions at the pres- 
ent time. 

On June 6, 191 1, Dr. Simon was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Schraven, 
who was bom near Oak Grove, Lowell township, April 8, 1885, a daughter of 
William and Anna (Heiling) Schraven, who reside near Lamartine in Fond 
du Lac county, where the father is engaged in farming. 

Dr. Simon gives a general allegiance to the democratic party and votes this 
ticket on national questions although in local affairs he casts an independent 
ballot. He and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church. He gives 
practically his entire attention to the general practice of medicine. Scientific 
efficiency is the ground work of his success and has been the principal factor in 
his undoubted success. Dr. Simon has the principal work of his life still before 
him, but has begun in a way which promises well for the future. 



For over twenty years Gustav Martin Lindert has been carrying on fanning 
and dairying upon one hundred and forty acres of land which he owns near 
Woodland. Progressive methods have made him prosperous and one of the 
successful and representative men of this section and have gained for him a 
high place in agricultural circles. Mr. Lindert was born in Hustisford township, 
April 1, 1865, and is a son of Martin and Gusta (Rehse) Lindert, natives of 
Germany. His father was born in the province of Brandenburg, October 10, 
1823, and remained there until 1856, when he came with his wife and daughter 
to America. He bought a farm in Hustisford township, Dodge county, and 
operated and developed it with great success until his death. The mother of 
our subject was born July 21, 1829. 

Gustav M. Lindert attended the German schools of his native section and 
after he laid aside his books worked for his father upon the home farm until 
he was twenty-six years of age. At that time he purchased one hundred and 
forty acres on sections 34, 22 and 27, Hubbard township, near Woodland, and 
upon it he has since resided. This is a fine tract of land and all under cultivation 
but twenty acres. The farm is equipped with the newest machinery to facilitate 
the work of the fields and nothing is neglected which goes to made a model 
agricultural enterprise. Upon it Mr. Lindert does general farming and gives 
special attention to the conduct of his dairy, which is kept clean and sanitary, 
his products commanding a ready sale and a high price on the market. Mr. 
Lindert also gives much of his time to breeding and raising stock. At the pres- 
ent time his herd consists of graded animals but he intends eventually to breed 
only thoroughbreds. From time to time he has made substantial improvements 
upon his property, converting two smaller barns into a large one, erecting grana- 



GUSTAV MARTIN LINDERT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



297 



ries and a silo, and in every way working to bring his farm into excellent 
condition. 

Mr. Lindert married in 1896, Miss Alice Wendorff, who was born Septem- 
ber 24, 1877. She is a daughter of August Wendorff, a native of the province of 
Pomerania, Germany, born August 24, 1846. He came to America before the 
Civil war and enlisted for service in the Federal army in that conflict. His wife 
was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Springborn, also a native of Germany, born 
in December, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Lindert have three children : Bernhard, whose 
birth occurred on May 20, 1897; Martha, born April 9, 1899; ar, d Meta, born 
May 26, 1902. The family are devout adherents of the Lutheran church. 

Mr. Lindert is independent in his political views and casts his vote for the 
man whom he considers most capable for the office without regard to party 
affiliations. He is actively interested in community affairs but his attention is 
mostly given to the operation of his farm, which he has developed and cultivates 
along modern lines, gaining for himself a high place among the representative 
men of his section. 



JOHN P. CARROLL. 

One of the most active, progressive and representative fanners of Dodge 
county is John P. Carroll, a native son, who owns and operates the farm in 
Shields township upon which he was born. He has one hundred and forty- 
three acres on section 24, highly improved along systematic lines, and his work 
in its development has been a distinct contribution to scientific agriculture. 
Mr. Carroll was born December 26, 1854. His father, Michael Carroll, was a 
native of Ireland and grew to manhood in that country. As a young man he 
determined to seek his fortune in America and accordingly crossed the At- 
lantic and settled in Vermont. From there he went to New York state and 
worked at various occupations for a number of years, saving enough out of 
his earnings to buy a team and wagon. With this he drove from New York 
state to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over many miles of wilderness, broken only oc- 
casionally by a small village. He arrived at his destination in 1845 and for 
three years he remained in Milwaukee and engaged in teaming. At the end 
of that time he came to Dodge county and purchased eighty acres of land in 
what is now Shields township and sixty-three acres adjoining in the township 
of Emmet. When he located on this property in 1848 it was a tract of wild 
timber land, upon which not a furrow had been turned. With characteristic 
energy Mr. Carroll set himself to the task of clearing the land and developing 
it into a model farm. In the first small space from which he cut down the 
trees he built a log cabin and took up his residence in it while he carried for- 
ward the work of improvement. As his financial resources grew he built the 
necessary barns and outbuildings and some years later replaced his original 
cabin by a fine modern residence. Little by little he became known as an able 
and scientific farmer, whose progressive methods had brought him well de- 
served success. He was one of the earliest pioneers in Dodge county and it 
is said that his deed to this property was the first filed on the county records. 



298 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



He died upon his farm in 1886 and his wife survived him for two years. In 
their family were eight children, four of whom are living. 

John P. Carroll was reared upon his father's farm and from his early child- 
hood helped in the operation of the same. He received his education in the 
public schools and in Sacred Heart College at Watertown, and when he had 
completed it returned home and took full charge of the property. After his 
father's death he inherited the homestead and has since given his entire time to 
its development. He has made substantial improvements in the barns and has 
erected new outbuildings and remodeled the house. In this he continued to 
reside until January, 1912, when he moved into the fine modern residence 
which was completed in that year on another section of the farm. It is a large 
two-story dwelling, equipped with all conveniences and accessories. Since com- 
ing into possession of his one hundred and forty-three acres Mr. Carroll re- 
mained upon the farm continuously until 1902, in which year he rented the prop- 
erty and moved to Watertown, where he engaged for two years in the agri- 
cultural implement business. In 1904, however, he returned to his home and 
again became active in the development of the farm, having sold his business 
interests in Watertown. 

Mr. Carroll married, in Richwood, November 24, 1896, Miss Elizabeth 
Burke, who was born and reared in Shields township. To this union were born 
five children, Arthur Raymond, John Warren, Charles Earl, Agnes Veronica 
and Mary, who died at the age of six months. Politically Mr. Carroll has given 
his allegiance to the democratic party since he cast his first vote and has been 
active and prominent in local affairs for many years. When he was a young 
man he served one term as assessor and since that time did able work as super- 
visor, laboring earnestly to promote the general welfare of the section. In his 
business affairs he displays excellent ability and his enterprise, careful control 
and keen discernment are factors which have gained him a place in the front 
ranks of progressive farmers. 



OSCAR D. NABER. 

Oscar D. Naber is conducting a general merchandise store in Mayville and 
has gained prominence in business circles by reason of his able management and 
his increasing success. As postmaster of the village and a factor in the af- 
fairs of various important local enterprises, as well as president of the school 
board, and a member of the Commercial Club, the prosperity which has come 
to him has been well merited by diligence and industry, and entitles him to a 
place among the representative men of the village. He is a native son of May- 
ville, having been born there, January 15, 1870. His father Dietrich Naber, 
was born in Oldenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1850, settling im- 
mediately in Mayville, where for some time he clerked in a general store. He 
saved his money and was soon able to purchase a store of his own which he 
continued to conduct until his death which occurred in 1901, when he was 
sixty-seven years of age. He was well known in the business circles of the 
village as an honorable, upright, and straightforward man, who starting in a 



Digitized by LjOOQIc 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



299 



small way had gradually built up his business into a modern, up-to-date enter- 
prise. He married Miss Anna Rucdcbush, who was born in Germany, and who 
came to America in i860 with her father, who was among the early settlers in 
Dodge county. The mother of our subject passed away in 1898. 

Oscar D. Naber is the fourth in a family of eight children. He was edu- 
cated in the district schools of his native section and is a graduate of the May- 
ville high school. After completing his studies he was employed in his father's 
store and has been connected with this enterprise since that time, first as clerk 
and later as proprietor. For twenty-eight years he has given his entire time 
and attention to its management keeping it modern and up-to-date in all its de- 
partments, and conducting it along progressive lines until it is now one of the 
finest stores in this section of the county. In August, 191 1, he was appointed 
postmaster of Mayvilk and assumed charge in October of the same year, dis- 
charging his duties ably and conscientiously. 

On August 4, 1899, Mr. Naber was united in marriage to Miss Paula Paus- 
tian, a daughter of Ferdinand and Sophia (Roll) Paustian. Her father was a 
miller by trade and also an electrician and followed these two lines of occupa- 
tion for many years. He is now living retired in Mayville. Mi. and Mrs. 
Naber have four children: Alfred, Walter, Herbert, and Margaret 

Politically Mr. Naber gives his allegiance to the republican party and al- 
though he has never sought public office his interest in educational affairs led 
him to accept the position of president of the school board, in which capacity 
he has served for the last six years and has recently been elected for another 
term. He is well known in fraternal circles being prominent in the Masonic 
order, by his membership in the lodge at Mayville and in the chapter at Hori- 
con. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, the German Turn 
Verein and the Mayville Commercial Club. The practical standards by which 
he directs his business life, his intelligent conduct of the affairs of his office 
and his general influence upon local affairs have made him an important figure 
in the community and are tangible proof of the usefulness and value of his life. 



HENRY BERGEN. 

Among the true builders and promoters of Dodge county may be numbered 
the men who came to this section in pioneer times and who by hard work in 
clearing the wild tracts of timber land transformed a wilderness into productive 
farms. Henry Bergen is numbered among the men of this class for he came 
to this district as a child in pioneer times and grew up amid conditions of de- 
velopment. As a child he was aiding his father in clearing the timber, break- 
ing the soil and making improvements upon the farm and he is living today 
upon the property to which he came as a boy nearly sixty years ago. In his 
mature career he has carried forward the work along modern lines of expan- 
sion and has achieved a success which places him among the representative citi- 
zens of Shields township. He has become identified with the more public life 
of the section and for many years has been considered one of the most influen- 
tial forces in democratic politics. He was born in Ontario, Canada, August 25, 



300 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1848. His father, John J. Bergen, moved to the United States with his family 
in 1853 and in the same year made a permanent settlement in Shields township. 
Here he purchased a tract of land covered with a dense growth of timber. He 
did not fear earnest and persevering work and broke the soil and made gen- 
eral improvements upon the property, including the building of a crude log 
cabin from the timber cut down. Later on he bought more land and continued 
the work of development along modern lines, replacing his early dwelling by 
a commodious and substantial house and building also a large basement barn 
and other outbuildings, so that the farm was gradually made into a model 
property. Upon this he reared his son Henry and daughter Mary and upon 
it he died in 1910, at the age of ninety-two years, His wife passed away in Feb- 
ruary of the same year. 

Henry Bergen grew up on the home farm and after' his parents died took 
full charge of its management and carried forward the work of improvement 
for a number of years. He engaged in general farming and was extensively 
interested in dairying and stock-raising, keeping fine herds of high-grade cat- 
tle. For over sixty years he has made his home upon this property and al- 
though he has the farm rented out, still continues to reside upon it. His sister 
Mary has been his housekeeper and both are well known and widely popular 
throughout Dodge county. 

Politically Mr. Bergen is a stanch democrat and one of the prominent men 
in public life in Shields township, for he has a record of twenty-three years of 
consecutive service as town clerk and also did able and effective work as treas- 
urer of the school board, bringing to the discharge of his official duties the 
same energy, conscientiousness and unquestioned honesty which made his 
business career successful. He and his sister have been residents of Dodge 
county for well over half a century and are numbered among the very earliest 
settlers in the section. They have witnessed the change of the county from a 
vast, unbroken wilderness into one of the finest farming sections in Wiscon- 
sin. They have seen railroad facilities established and developed, towns and 
cities founded and built up, and well improved farms cultivated everywhere. 
To a large extent Mr. Bergen's work has been identified with this progress and 
change and by his able, straightforward and earnest work he has done his part 
in creating one of the finest farming sections in America. His life has, there- 
fore, been more than individually successful, it has been useful and valuable. 



GUSTAV BESKE. 

Gustav Beskc has for the past fourteen years been engaged in business as 
a general merchant of Atwater and for the same length of time has also served 
in the capacity of postmaster, being appointed to that position in 1898. His 
birth occurred in Hubbard township, Dodge county, on the 24th of February, 
1873, ms parents being Herman and Matilda (Kietser) Beske. William F. 
Beske, the paternal grandfather, was a native of Pommern, Germany, and emi- 
grated to the United States with his family about 1856. He came direct to Wis- 
consin, locating first near Mayville and later in life removing to Chester town- 



Digitized 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



301 



ship. Unto him and his wife were born three children, as follows: Herman; 
Amelia A., the wife of John Albrecht, of Mayville, Wisconsin; and Augusta, 
the wife of F. W. Beske, of Burnett, Wisconsin. 

Herman Beske, the father of Gustav Beske, was a lad of eight years when 
he accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States. After 
attaining his majority he began farming on his own account, first in Hubbard 
township, this county, and later in Lomira township. About 1894 he came to 
Chester township, where he has since been successfully engaged in general agri- 
cultural pursuits. The period of his residence in Dodge county covers more 
than a half century and he has gained an extensive and favorable acquaintance 
within its borders. He was married in 1872 and has three living children, 
namely: Gustav, of this review; Edwin, who resides in Atwater, Wisconsin; 
and Albert, at home. 

In the acquirement of an education Gustav Beske attended the public schools 
and also a German parochial school at Lomira. After putting aside his text- 
books he assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until he secured 
a position in the service of the Soo Line. In 1898 he came to Atwater and 
opened a general merchandise store. In 1905 he was appointed agent of the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company at Atwater and opened an 
express office. As a merchant he has won success, carrying a large and at- 
tractive line of goods and doing everything in his power to meet the demands 
and wishes of his patrons. In 1898 he was appointed to the position of post- 
master and has ably discharged the duties devolving upon him in that connec- 
tion to the present time. 

On the 15th of September, 1898, Mr. Beske was united in marriage to Miss 
Cecelia Saeger, who was born in Burnett township, this county, on the 29th of 
November, 1877, her parents being Gottlieb and Fredericka (Boos) Saeger. 
Her father emigrated to this country from Pommern, Germany, at an early day, 
locating in Herman township, Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he now resides 
and follows farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Beske have been born two children, 
Erwin and Alvin, who are both at home. 

Mr. Beske is a republican and has served as township clerk of Chester 
township. He and his family belong to the Lutheran church. The salient qual- 
ities of his life have ever commended him to the confidence, good-will and 
friendship of those with whom he comes in contact and he has always enjoyed 
the warm regard of a host of friends. Both he and his wife have spent their 
entire lives in Dodge county and are well entitled to a place among its repre- 
sentative residents. 



REINHOLD WEGNER. 

General agricultural pursuits claim the time and energies of Reinhold Weg- 
ner, who resides on section 20, Chester township, and owns two farms, com- 
prising one hundred and fifty-two and two hundred acres of land respectively. 
His birth occurred in West Prussia, Germany, on the 24th of April, 1856, his 
parents being Martin and Eva (Kitzer) Wegner, the former born in 181 1. and 



302 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the latter in 1830. Our subject comes of an old Prussian family. Martin Weg- 
ner passed away in 1857, when his son Reinhold was but a year old, and his 
widow afterward became the wife of John Sonnenbush. In 1870 Mr. and Mrs. 
Sonnenbush and the five children of the latter's first marriage emigrated to the 
United States, the family home being established in Burnett township, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin. Mr. Sonnenbush first purchased a farm there and then 
secured employment on the railroad. Both he and his wife are still living and 
are widely and favorably known throughout the community. 

Reinhold Wegner obtained his education in the schools of the fatherland and 
was a youth of fourteen when he came to America with his mother and step- 
father. After arriving in this county he at once secured employment as a 
farm hand and for a number of years worked diligently and saved his earnings. 
When a young man of twenty-five years he rented a tract of land and was 
busily engaged in its cultivation until 1886, when he purchased a farm of one 
hundred and fifty-two acres in Chester township. In 1889 he bought one hun- 
dred and twenty acres across the road and also began cultivating that tract. 
In 1907 he purchased eighty acres adjoining the latter farm, which now em- 
braces two hundred acres. He has made all of the improvements on both of his 
properties, which are models of their kind. The soil is naturally rich and 
productive and the practical and progressive methods which he uses in culti- 
vating it have brought good results. The success which he now enjoys is all 
the more creditable by reason of the fact that it is attributable entirely to his 
own efforts and enterprise. 

In 1881 Mr. Wegner was united in marriage to Miss Albertina Daumann, 
who was born in Germany in 1858, her parents being Carl and Louise (Muencke) 
Daumann. The father came to the United States in 1861, locating at Mayville, 
Wisconsin, where he first worked in a foundry. In 1866 he turned his atten- 
tion to general agricultural pursuits. His demise occurred in 1909. To him 
and his wife were born four children, of whom Mrs. Wegner was the young- 
est. Our subject and his wife had seven children, one of whom died in infancy. 
The others are as follows : Hettie, the wife of Albert Smith, of Atwater, by 
whom she has two children ; Matie ; Ledore ; Tafiel ; Rene ; and Harold. The 
five last named are still at home. The wife and mother passed away in 1008. 

In politics Mr. Wegner is a democrat and at present is serving as a member 
of the school board and also in the capacity of road overseer. The cause of 
education has ever found in him a stanch champion. In religious faith he is a 
Lutheran, belonging to the church of that denomination at . Waupun. The 
period of his residence in Dodge county covers more than four decades and the 
circle of his friends and acquaintances is a wide one. 



Agricultural and stock-raising interests in Dodge county find a progressive 
and worthy representative in Hiram Wcdemeyer, who owns and cultivates the 
family homestead of one hundred and forty-three acres on section 12, Shields 
township. He is one of the many enterprising and successful farmers and 



HIRAM WEDEMEYER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



303 



stock-raisers in this district who are founding a distinct and substantial pros- 
perity in their chosen work by steadily adhering to systematic and practical 
methods and by studying agriculture as a modern science. A native son of 
Dodge county, Mr. Wedemeyer was born in Shields township on the old home- 
stead, September 22, 1868. His father, Theodore Wedemeyer, was a native 
of New York but came west with his parents when he was a child and with 
them located in Emmet township in 1847. Here he grew to maturity upon his 
father's farm until 1862, when they moved upon their Shields township farm. 
Here he married in 1867 Miss Jane Kerr, also a native of New York, who was 
reared and educated in Wisconsin. After his marriage Theodore Wedemeyer 
bought one hundred and forty-three acres of land which was partially cleared 
and improved. Upon this property he established his home and with 
characteristic energy began the work of further development. Being industrious, 
progressive and enterprising he met with a gratifying degree of success, be- 
coming one of the prosperous farmers and business men in Dodge county. 
Upon his farm he erected a substantial residence with basement and planted 
a number of his acres in an orchard. He was one of the pioneers to haul milk 
to make cheese in this section of the state, starting in the year 1874. However, 
the principal interest of his life was given to stock-raising and he was the 
breeder of the first registered Holstein cattle in this vicinity. He continued 
to reside upon his farm for a number of years but finally retired and moved to 
Watertown, where he passed away, February 6, 1910, having survived his wife 
who died in 1886, for a number of years. 

Hiram Wedemeyer grew up on his father's farm and his primary education 
was received in the public schools of Dodge county. By making use of every 
opportunity and by wide reading he fitted himself for teaching and followed 
this occupation for five years before he entered the Wisconsin State Univer- 
sity, which institution he attended for two years. When he laid aside his books 
he went to Chicago, where he worked at steam heating and plumbing for about 
five years. In igoo he returned to the home farm and has since given his entire 
time and attention to agricultural pursuits. He has repaired and improved the 
buildings which his father erected and has added a silo and a number of other 
necessary structures. Stock-raising forms an important phase of his interests 
and he is extensively identified with the breeding and fattening of pure-blooded, 
registered Holstein cattle. In this industry his father was a pioneer, for he 
was engaged in it as early as the year 1885. Mr. Wedemeyer, of this review, 
has carried on this branch of his father's activities and now has a herd of 
thirty pure-blooded, registered animals. He is also operating upon his prop- 
erty a model dairy, giving strict attention, to the details of cleanliness and sani- 
tation, and the products of this branch of his enterprise find a ready sale in the 
market. For four years Mr. Wedemeyer has been acting as agent for the Elba 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company and has proved himself an able business 
man as well as a successful and prosperous agriculturist. 

At Chicago, Illinois, on the 23d of October, 1895, Mr. Wedemeyer married 
Miss Mary Norton, a native of New York state, and to their union were born 
three children, Josephine, Mary and Paul W. The family are members of St. 
Joseph's Catholic church of Richwood. 



HISTORY OF DQDGE COUNTY 



Mr. \ 'edemeyer has gained recognition ih Shields township and through- 
out Dodge county as one of the most industrious and prosperous farmers of this 
district. He stands constantly for progress in every branch of his activities 
and the result of this policy is shown conclusively in the excellent state of his 
business affairs and the flourishing condition of his farm. Upon it are found 
all the improvements in equipment necessary to the conduct of a model agri- 
cultural enterprise and the owner is known as one of the greatest forces in 
local development and progress. 



HENRY BOEHMER. 

Henry Boehmer is conducting business under the name of the Mayville 
Foundry Company and is sole, proprietor of the enterprise. He has always 
been connected with this line of activity and his success is the merited reward 
of persistent effort and capable direction. He was born in Prussia, December 
24, 1833, a son of Conrad Boehmer, who lived and died in Germany. Henry 
Boehmer crossed the Atlantic with his mother, who in her maidenhood was 
Barbara Boether, a native of Prussia. The voyage was made in 1848 and they 
spent a year in Albany, New York, after which the family came to Wisconsin 
in 1849, settling in Sheboygan. Henry Boehmer proceeded on foot to May- 
ville and the same year the family, consisting of mother, two sisters and Henry 
Boehmer, settled in this locality, where Mrs. Boehmer passed away in 1880. 

Henry Boehmer was educated in the schools of Prussia and early in life be- 
came connected with the foundry business, which he followed until 1851 as an 
employe of the Northwestern Iron Company. Leaving Mayville in 1851 he 
went to Chicago, remaining there for some time, and then proceeded to Milwau- 
kee, where he spent two years. He then returned to Mayville and worked for 
Daniel Van Brunt for two years, after which he bought the business and con- 
tinued there until 1859. In 1859, attracted by the discovery of gold at Pike's 
Peak, he went to Colorado, where he remained for about six months. On re- 
turning to Mayville he became connected 'with the Marling & Younker Com- 
pany, a firm that he had previously been connected with, in the foundry busi- 
ness and was thus associated until 1888, when he purchased the foundry of which 
he has since been the owner. He makes farm machinery and all kinds of cast- 
ings, and although now seventy-nine years of age, he helped to pour off a cast 
of iron on the 18th of July, 1912. He is a remarkably well preserved man, 
strong and vigorous for one of his age, and as proprietor of the Mayville Foun- 
dry Company he is conducting a profitable and extensive business. 

On the 20th of September, 1856, Mr. Boehmer was married to Miss Mar- 
garet End, a daughter of Alois End, a native of Alsace, France, which district, 
however, has since become a part of Germany. His wife, Mrs. Mary Fnd, 
was also a native of Alsace. They came to America in the '30s and for a time 
remained in Doolittle, Ohio, but subsequently removed to Milwaukee and later 
settled in Mayville Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1855. The father devoted his 
life to farming and both he and his wife arc now deceased. Their daughter. 
Mrs. Boehmer, was born August 2, 1838, and passed away on the 5th of April. 



Digitized by Gc 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



305 



1904. By her marriage she became the mother of eleven children. Joseph, 
who was married and had two children, was proprietor of a foundry and store 
at Sheboygan until he met death by accident, July 14, 1891. George died Feb- 
ruary 20, i860. Alois is married, has six children, and is engaged in the foun- 
dry business. Mary is the wife of John Steger, a brewer. Edward is married, 
has one child and is also engaged in the foundry business. Henry works in 
a gun store in Milwaukee. Katie, living in Portland, Oregon, is married, and 
has five children. Mathias died November 29, 1887. Josephine is the wife of 
Louis Hilkert, of Spokane, Washington, and has three children. Charles died 
February 23, 1904. Hubert, born November 20, i860, is married and lives at 
home. 

In politics Mr. Boehmer is a democrat and has ever stanchly advocated the 
principles of the party. He has served as village marshal and as a member of 
the school board, while for a time he also filled the office of town treasurer. His 
religious faith is that of the Catholic church. While a native of Prussia, he 
has always been most loyal to his adopted land, under whose flag he has re- 
sided for sixty-four years. He has worked hard and whatever success he has 
achieved has come to him as the direct result of his labors. Dodge county knows 
him as an industrious, reliable business man and by his many acquaintances he 
is held in warm regard. 



FRED W. KROHN. 

Fred W. Krohn is a prominent figure in commercial circles in Mayville, 
where he is engaged in dealing in furniture, musical instruments and undertak- 
ing goods. He was born in the township of Theresa, Dodge county, April 18, 
1887, and, as the name indicates, is of German descent. His grandfather, Wil- 
liam Krohn, was born in Germany and came to America in the early '50s. He 
was married in his native land and followed farming both there and in the 
United States. His son, Herman Krohn, the father of Fred W. Krohn, was 
born in Dodge county and also became a farmer, devoting his entire life to agri- 
cultural pursuits. He has a place of one hundred acres devoted to general 
farming and has brought his fields to a high state of cultivation. He married 
Theresa Koepsell, who is also living. 

Fred W. Krohn is the eldest of their family of six children and in the pub- 
lic schools he pursued his education while spending his boyhood days on his 
father's farm in Theresa township. While not occupied with his text-books he 
worked in the fields and later became a cheese and butter maker, giving his at- 
tention to that business until 1907, when at the age of twenty years he began 
merchandising, opening a store in Mayville, where he carries a large and well 
selected line of furniture, undertaking goods and musical instruments. He 
passed the examination of the Embalming School of Philadelphia in 1908. The 
business is conducted under the firm style of the Krohn-Kocpsell-Gruber Com- 
pany, Incorporated. Their trade is large and gratifying and is the merited re- 
ward of business methods which neither seek nor require disguise 



306 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



On the ist of March, 1908, Mr. Krohn was married to Miss Clara Borchardt, 
a daughter of Fred and Amelia Borchardt of Mayville, the former a retired 
farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Krohn have one child, Andrew. They are well known- 
in the town and have an extensive circle of warm friends. They hold member- 
ship in the German Lutheran church and Mr. Krohn gives his political alle- 
giance to the republican party. That he is well liked and popular is indicated 
in the fact that he was chosen alderman of the Second ward, being the first 
republican ever elected in that ward in Mayville. He has made an excellent 
record, displaying in the performance of his public duties the same sterling 
qualities which he manifests in his business career. 



Michael Carroll, capitalist, financier and man of affairs, is well known in 
business circles of Watertown as a progressive, enterprising and able man and 
is numbered also among the pioneers in Dodge county, where for many years 
he was one of the greatest individual forces in agricultural development. He 
was born in Albany, New York, February 1, 1839, and has resided in Dodge 
county since 1845. His father, Michael Carroll, Sr., was born in Ireland and 
remained in his native country until he was a young man, when he decided to 
come to America and crossed the Atlantic, settling in Albany, where he fol- 
lowed his trades of moulding and pattern-making for some time. He there 
married Miss Alice Fox, also a native of Ireland, and in 1844 came west, settling 
in Dodge county, where he entered a claim of two hundred and forty acres. He 
returned to New York and in the following year brought to Wisconsin his wife 
and family. They journeyed by way of the Erie canal to Buffalo and then 
sailed across the lakes to Milwaukee. From there they traveled with teams over- 
land to Dodge county and settled upon a tract of heavy timber land among the 
earliest pioneers of the state. With the energy and resolution which were 
qualities in his character Michael Carroll, Sr., set himself to the task of clear- 
ing and developing his land. With a portion of the lumber which he cut down 
he built a small frame house, in which he lived for a number of years and the 
building still stands on the place. Gradually, as his financial resources increased, 
he extended the work of improvement and soon had a large portion of his farm 
planted in grain. He replaced his original building with a fine frame residence 
and built barns, outbuildings and granaries. From time to time he added to 
his holdings until he owned several hundred acres of the finest and most produc- 
tive land in the state. Upon this property he reared his family and upon it he 
spent the last years of his life. 

Michael Carroll of this review was reared upon his father's farm and his 
primary education was received in the public schools of Dodge county. This 
was later supplemented by a short course in the Watertown schools, but Mr. 
Carroll's advantages along this line were very limited. This deficiency, how- 
ever, he has remedied by constant and wide reading and is now one of the most 
cultured and educated men in the section in which he resides. He worked upon 
the farm until after the death of his father and then inherited the homestead 



MICHAEL CARROLL. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



307 



of two hundred and forty acres, to which he added one hundred and twenty 
acres adjoining. For a number of years he farmed and developed this prop- 
erty, repaired old buildings and built new ones. He however operated the 
two tracts as separate farms, built substantial residences on both and the neces- 
sary barns, silos and outbuildings. He continued his identification with agri- 
cultural pursuits until 1883 and then rented his holdings and moved to Water- 
town, where he has become active and prominent in commercial and political 
circles. He has careful tenants on each farm and the fine herds of cattle, hogs 
and horses are Mr. Carroll's property. 

Immediately after taking up his residence in Watertown Mr. Carroll estab- 
lished himself in the general merchandise business and was successful in it for 
a number of years. Gradually he extended his interests and invested his money 
judiciously in local real estate, purchasing lots upon which he built residences. 
These he rents out with the exception of a fine modern dwelling on West Main 
street, which he occupies himself. Mr. Carroll is a stockholder and director 
in the Wisconsin National Bank and has other important financial interests, 
which he manages in so capable a manner that he is accounted one of the most 
able and efficient business men in the city. 

In Emmet township, May i, i860, Mr. Carroll married Miss Mary Burke, 
who was born in Ireland and who was brought to America by her parents when 
she was an infant. Mrs. Carroll died upon the farm in Emmet township in 
1877 an d ' s buried in St. Bernard's cemetery in Watertown. She left three 
children. Michael Carroll, Jr., grew to manhood and for some time engaged in 
business in Watertown. He died in this city at the age of twenty-two. Alice 
married John Ryan, a business man of Watertown. She passed away some 
time ago. John died when about seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll 
are devout adherents of the Roman Catholic church. Although Michael Car- 
roll has reached the age of seventy-three, he seems yet in his prime, in spirit 
and interests. For about thirty years he has been a resident of Watertown and 
his many varied and representative activities have had their effect upon the 
general development of the city. All the requisites for success he possesses in 
a marked degree, for he is shrewd, energetic, persevering and discriminating 
in his judgments. His work along business lines has, therefore, been constantly 
constructive and has had an important effect in promoting along many lines 
the commercial activity which makes for growth. 



WILFRED C. HOWARD. 

Wilfred C. Howard is one of the respected citizens of Waupun, in which 
city he has lived since 1893, while he calls Wisconsin his home state since 1882. 
He was born July 11, 1861, in Guilford, Maine, and is a son of Leonard E. and 
Johanna P. (Morton) Howard. The former was born May 30, 1826, in Guil- 
ford, Maine, and the latter was a native of New Hampshire. The paternal 
grandfather was Leonard Howard, who was born in Leeds, Maine, in 1803 and 
died in 1871. The grandmother, Cynthia M. Howard, was born in Scituate, 
Massachusetts, in 1796, and died in 1888. To Mr. and Mrs. Leonard E. Howard, 



308 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the parents of our subject, four children were born, as follows : George E., who 
is engaged in the insurance business at Dover, Maine; Mrs. Carrie M. Robbins, 
who is a resident of Leeds, Massachusetts; Wilfred C, of this review; and 
Herbert M., living at Fox Lake, Wisconsin. 

Wilfred C. Howard was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools and later was a student for a short time in one of the academies 
of Maine. After completing his academic course he taught school in Guilford, 
Maine, and later in Wisconsin. He settled in Wisconsin in 1882, at which time 
he engaged in teaching school and continued in that vocation until 1883. He 
then, in company with his brother, purchased eighty acres of land located west 
of Waupun and upon that property he continued to live for seven years. In 
1890 he purchased a farm on the west shore of Fox Lake and was there en- 
gaged in general farming until 1893, at which time he bought the hardware 
business of Chamberlain & Davison in Waupun and later consolidated his busi- 
ness with the Bryce & Ferguson Company of Waupun and since 1006 has suc- 
cessfully continued the business in his own name. He is a stockholder in the 
National Bank of Waupun and also has an interest in the Fox Lake canning 
factory. 

Mr. Howard was united in marriage March 4, 1890, to Miss Edith J. Brown, 
who was born in Liverpool, England, but later became a resident of Leeds, 
Massachusetts. Her mother is still living in Maine. To Mr. and Mrs. Howard 
five children have been born, namely: Blanche M., born February 12, 1892, who 
is attending Beloit College; Mildred M., who was born October 8, 1894, and 
died June 12, 1912; Lois M., whose birth occurred on the 19th of August, 1897; 
Marjorie E., who was born August 31, 1900; and Wilfred F., born August 17, 
1906. 

Mr. Howard is affiliated with the republican party and has been school treas- 
urer of Waupun for twelve years. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America and he and his wife are members of the Congregational church of 
Waupun. Mr. Howard is one of the enterprising and successful merchants of 
Waupun and a man who is held in high esteem by all of his acquaintances and 
is numbered among the desirable and useful citizens of his part of the state. 



JOSEPH BROOKS, Sr. 

Joseph Brooks, Sr., is one of the most enterprising and prosperous farmers 
and stock-raisers in Emmet township, where he owns and operates a fine tract 
of two hundred arid thirty-five acres on section 31, west of the city limits of 
Watertown. He is a native son of Dodge county and was born in Emmet 
township, April 23, 1845. His father, Joseph Brooks, was a native of Ireland 
and came to the United States at an early age, settling first in Massachusetts, 
where he resided for a number of years: In 1844 he moved west to Wisconsin 
and located in Dodge county in pioneer times. Here he found an undeveloped 
and unsettled country with miles of dense forest tracts in all directions. Un- 
deterred by these conditions, he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
from which by arduous and persevering labor he cleared the trees. He built 



Digitized by Google 




The above in a very good likenrs* of Willard A. Van Hrnnt. 

From its inception in 1H61, until reeently, Mr. Van llrurit him been connected 
with the manufacture of Van Ururit seeding machines at Horii-oii. Wisconsin. 

He was born in Williamstown, Dodge County, July 13, 1847. His parents were 
Daniel C. and Mary Kassutt Van lirunt. 



Digitized by Google 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



311 



a crude log cabin and began to farm and develop his property. By steady and 
unfaltering work, directed by a perseverance which was proof against discourage- 
ment, he soon had the land under the plow. As acre by acre yielded harvests, 
he bought more property and extended the work of clearing the trees until he 
had several hundred acres under cultivation. Upon this property he erected sub- 
stantial buildings and made general improvements and little by little was re- 
warded by success, becoming one of the most prosperous farmers and influential 
citizens in Dodge county. Here he reared his family and spent the remainder of 
his life, dying in 1894. His wife survived him many years and passed away 
at an advanced age, being almost one hundred years old when she died. 

Joseph Brooks of this review, grew up on the home farm and from an early 
age aided his father in the work of developing and cultivating the fields. His 
primary education was received in the common schools and was supplemented 
by a year in the Northwestern University at Watertown. At the end of this 
time he laid aside his books and returned to the home farm, where he worked 
in the interest of his father until he was twenty-eight years of age. At that 
time the latter gave to his son a tract of land of one hundred and seventy acres, 
which constitutes a portion of his present farm. Upon this he began the work 
of improvement and development and from time to time bought more land and 
added it to his holdings until he owns two hundred and thirty-five acres of the 
finest and most productive land in Wisconsin. Upon this he has built a fine 
modern residence, an excellent barn, a granary for the protection of his crops 
and a well equipped tool house. He has made many other substantial improve- 
ments and is recognized in the section in which he resides as one of the greatest 
individual forces in the development of agriculture into a systematic science. 
He has a number of his acres planted in orchard and is besides extensively inter- 
ested in raising stock. He breeds and fattens Holstein cattle and has a herd 
of thirty-two head, all of pure-blooded registered stock, with a fine thoroughbred 
Friesian- Holstein at the head of the herd. Another important department of 
Mr. Brooks' farm is the dairy, which is modernly equipped in every particular, 
special attention having been paid to cleanliness and sanitation. He gives much 
of his time and attention to the conduct of this department and is successful in 
it, as in all other branches of his activity, by reason of the progressive methods 
which he follows and the high business standards to which he steadily adheres. 

In September, 1875, Mr. Brooks married, in Watertown, Miss Maria Mc- 
Donough, who was born and reared in Wisconsin. Eight of the children born 
to their union are living. They are as follows: John, who is superintendent of 
the beet sugar works at Chippewa, Wisconsin ; Joseph, who is in the sugar re- 
fining business in Colorado; Christopher, who is studying for the priesthood in 
Notre Dame, Indiana; Peter, a graduate of the Watertown high school, who 
is assisting his father with the work of the farm; Daniel, who also resides at 
home; Anna, the wife of Edwin Gormley, residing near Jefferson, Wisconsin; 
Agnes, who married Peter Murphy, a business man of Milwaukee; and Helen,, 
who lives at home. The family are devout adherents of the Roman Catholic 
religion and attend St. Bernard's church in Watertown. 

Mr. Brooks is independent in his political views and casts his vote for the 
man whom he considers most capable of filling the position without regard to 
party affiliations. He was elected and served as supervisor for one year but has 

Vnl II— It 



312 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



since constantly declined political honors, preferring to devote his entire time 
to the management of his business interests. He is, however, public-spirited 
in a marked degree and this has taken the form of active and ready cooperation 
in any movement which has for its object the material, moral or intellectual 
expansion of the section in which he was born. 



Edward F. Pautsch, living on section 34, Chester township, is the owner of 
a tract of land comprising one hundred and sixty-nine acres and devotes his 
attention to the pursuits of general fanning and dairying. His birth occurred 
in that township on the 4th of November, 1878, his parents being Carl and 
Johanna F. (Zuhlsdorf) Pautsch, of whom more extended mention is made 
on another page of this work. In the acquirement of an education he attended 
the public and German parochial schools and when not busy with his text-books 
assisted his father in the operation of the home farm. In 1903 he purchased 
the place from his father and it has since remained in his possession. It originally 
embraced one hundred and fifty-one acres but he purchased an adjoining tract 
of eighteen acres and the farm now comprises one hundred and sixty-nine acres. 
He erected a substantial and commodious barn on the place and in other ways 
has enhanced its value and attractiveness. In connection with the cultivation of 
cereals he devotes considerable attention to dairying and also raises hay on an 
extensive scale. 

In 1902 Mr. Pautsch was united in marriage to Miss Annie Wetzel, who 
was born on the 7th of February, 1880, her parents being Fred and Louisa 
(Medtke) Wetzel, both natives of Brandenburg, Germany. They emigrated to 
the United States about 1868, locating in Lomira township. Dodge county, Wis- 
consin, and have since remained in this county, being now residents of Trenton 
township. They have four children, as follows: Mrs. Annie Pautsch; Emil, 
who is a resident of Trenton township ; and Fred and Arthur, who are still at 
home. Mr. and Mrs. Pautsch have one child, Leona, whose natal day was April 
28, 1904. Mr. Pautsch is a devoted member of Immanuel's Lutheran church 
of Burnett and acts as one of its trustees. He has won prosperity in his under- 
takings as an agriculturist and he and his wife are numbered among the sub- 
stantial and esteemed citizens of the county in which they have spent their entire 



Frederick Kronitz. living retired in Watcrtown, was for twenty-seven years 
actively identified with hotel interests in the city. As proprietor of the Wash- 
ington Hotel he kept one of the finest and most modern hostelries in the county 
and by his able management established himself in the front ranks of progress- 
ive business men. He is a native son of Wisconsin, born in Lebanon township. 



EDWARD F. PAUTSCH. 



lives. 



FREDERICK KRONITZ. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



313 



Dodge county, March 29, 1846. His parents were Henry and Eva (Leichfeldt) 
Kronitz, natives of the fatherland. t'^Thenrst of the family to settle in America 
was the grandmother of our subject, who after the death of her husband in 
Germany came to the United States and settled in Lebanon township, Dodge 
county, where she lived to the age of ninety. The father of our subject lived 
in his native country until after he had completed his term of military service 
as a member of a cavalry regiment in the German army. He married and in 
184^ came with his wife to Lebanon township. There he took up government 
land, paying for his property a dollar and a quarter an acre. This farm he cul- 
tivated and improved, struggling for success against the hard conditions of an 
early period of agricultural development. Cash money was rare and most of 
the business was done by trading, and even the money for taxes was raised 
with difficulty. Henry Kronitz hauled his grain to Milwaukee by ox team and 
sold or exchanged it in the markets of that city, returning with the household 
supplies which were needed by the family. He remained upon his farm for 
many years and brought it to a high state of cultivation. Eventually, however, 
he retired from active 'life and moved to Watertown, where he died in 1882, 
when he was seventy-seven years of age. He had long survived his wife, who 
died upon the home farm in 1876. Both were members of the Lutheran church. 
In their family were seven children: Wilhelmina, the deceased wife of August 
Block; Carl, of Watertown; Henry, deceased; Augusta, who became the wife 
of Edward Jolke and is now deceased; Frederick, of Watertown; Amelia, the 
deceased wife of William Gorder ; and a child who died in infancy. 

Frederick Kronitz was reared upon his father's farm in Lebanon township 
and received his education in the district schools. He remained at home until 
1871 and then moved to Waterloo township, where he spent four years culti- 
vating and improving a tine farm of one hundred and eighty acres. In 1875 
he moved to Watertown and has since made this city his home. He purchased 
the Washington Hotel and conducted it along modern business lines until it 
was partly destroyed by fire. He immediately rebuilt, erecting a fine brick 
structure, and managed the hotel until 1902, when he retired from active life. 

On the 23d of June, 1870, Mr. Kronitz was united in marriage to Miss 
Wilhelmina Gorder, who was born in the principality of Lippe-Detwold, Ger- 
many, April 4, 1852, a daughter of August and Louisa (Krueger) Gorder, na- 
tives of the fatherland. She came to America with her parents in 1853 and set- 
tled in Portland township, Dodge county, where her father operated a farm 
for some time, later moving to Waterloo township, where Mrs. Kronitz grew 
to womanhood. Her mother died in that section in 1872, when she was fifty- 
eight years of age, and the father passed away in Watertown in 1878, at the 
age of sixty-six. They had six children : Henrietta ; Frederick and August, 
both of whom have passed away ; William ; Wilhelmina, the wife of our sub- 
ject; and Sophie, who married Edward Kuetig, of Waterloo. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kronitz became the parents of four children: August, who died in infancy; 
Louis E., who married Ida Hose, by whom he has one daughter, Gretchen; 
Ida. who became the wife of Otto Novack, now deceased, by whom she had 
rive children, four of whom are still living, Walter, Esther, Arnold and Erna; 
and Henry, who married Emma Christensen, by whom he has one daughter, 
Doris. The family are members of the Lutheran church. 



314 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. Kronitz gives his allegiance to the democratic party but never allows 
political affiliations to influence his vote. He is interested in the growth and 
development of his native section but he never seeks public office. He is known, 
however, as a progressive and straightforward business man and until 1902 
continued his active identification with the management of the Washington 
Hotel but is now retired and enjoying a well earned rest, having acquired a 
comfortable fortune and the respect and esteem of his associates and friends. 



William T. Sleight has lived retired in Watertown for the past nine years, 
his home being at No. 604 South Washington street. Throughout his active 
business career he was successfully engaged in general agricultural pursuits 
and still owns an excellent farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres in Emmet 
township. It was on that place that his birth* occurred, May 27, 1855. His 
parents, John P. and Mary Ann (Russell) Sleight, the former a native of Lin- 
colnshire, and the latter of Kent, England. The father emigrated to the United 
States in 1837, sailed up the Great Lakes to Toledo, Ohio, and then traveled for 
three hundred miles on foot up the Maumee and down the Wabash rivers, sub- 
sequently engaging in the construction of the Wabash and Erie canal. Until 
1845 he followed different occupations, being engaged principally in construc- 
tion work, but in the meantime, in 1841, had made a visit to England. In 1845 
he came to Emmet township, Dodge county, purchased land and for a period 
of nine years was engaged in ditching, while during the remainder of his life he 
carried on different manufacturing and farming enterprises. His demise 
occurred October 5, 1896, when he had attained the age of seventy-six years, 
while his wife was called to her final rest on February 19, 1904. at the age of 
seventy-three. The remains of both were interred in Oak Hill cemetery at 
Watertown. John P. Sleight had been a resident of this county for over a 
half century and had gained an enviable reputation here as a substantial and 
esteemed citizen. 

William T. Sleight, who was the second in order of birth in a family of 
four children, obtained his early education in the public schools, later attended 
an Episcopal parochial school at Oconomowoc and subsequently pursued a course 
of study in the Northwestern University at Watertown. After putting aside 
his text-books he began farming on his own account in Emmet township, operat- 
ing the farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres on which he was born. He 
was busily engaged in the further cultivation and improvement of that place 
until 1903, his well tilled fields annually yielding golden harvests as a reward 
for the care and labor which he bestowed upon them. For the past nine years, 
however, he has lived retired in Watertown, enjoying the fruits of his former 
toil in well earned ease. The farm on which he was born and which he suc- 
cessfully operated for so many years is still in his possession. 

On the 26th of September, 1876, Mr. Sleight was united in marriage to 
Miss Aminda Boomer, of Trenton township, Dodge county, her parents being 
Edward J. and Jane (Woodruff) Boomer, who were early settlers of this county 



WILLIAM T. SLEIGHT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



315 



She was the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children and was boro 
on the 4th of January, 1855. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sleight have been born two 
children, namely: Gertrude E., whose birth occurred on the 2d of December, 
1881, and who is still under the parental roof; and Flora J., who was born on 
the 9th of December, 1886, and passed away July 29, 1904. 

Mr. Sleight gives his political allegiance to the republican party, believing 
that its principles are most conducive to good government He acted as cen- 
sus enumerator for the town of Emmet in 1900 and for twelve years was a 
member of the school board in his district. He was reared in the faith of the 
Episcopal church and fraternally is identified with Watertown Lodge, No. 49, 
A. F. & A. M.. Both he and his estimable wife have a host of warm friends 
throughout the community and justly merit the regard and esteem which are 
uniformly accorded them. 



PETER F. LANGENFELD, M. D. 

Dr. Peter F. Langenfeld, one of the most capable, enterprising and reliable 
physicians in Theresa, has been practicing his profession in the village since 
1903 and from the very beginning his success has been assured, based as it is 
upon the firm foundation of scientific efficiency. He is well known in this 
section for he was born in Theresa and has here spent his entire life. His 
birth occurred June 12, 1878, his parents being Peter and Josephine (Mayer) 
Langenfeld. His father was born in Prussia, Germany, December 8, 1837, 
and came to America in 1855 when he was seventeen years of age. He was 
educated in the public schools of his native country and completed his studies 
in the high school at Menasha, Wisconsin. When he laid aside his books he 
clerked in a store at Iron Ridge and then came to Theresa, settling in this vil- 
lage in 1861. For fifteen years he taught in the local Catholic school and also 
engaged in the fire insurance business. He was prominently identified with 
local democratic politics and in 1878 represented his district in the state legis- 
lature. He was a notary public and was serving as justice of the peace at the 
time of his death. He was twice married. His first union was with Miss Caro- 
line Miller who died March 3, 187 1, leaving two children, Theresa and Albert. 
In 1877 he was again wedded. His second wife being Miss Josephine Mayer, 
a daughter of Joseph Mayer who worked as a laborer for a number of years 
but who is now living retired in the ninety-third year of his age. 

Dr. Langenfeld was the only son born to his father's second union. He 
was educated in the district schools of his native village and later attended 
the Beaver Dam high school. He was graduated from the medical department 
of Northwestern University in 1903 and immediately located for practice in 
Theresa. His active career has been short but expert knowledge and inherent 
ability have made his rise rapid. 

On May 23, 1912, Dr. Langenfeld was united in marriage to Miss Leona 
Quandt, a daughter of Fred Quandt, a farmer in Herman township. The Doc- 
tor gives his allegiance to the democratic party but is not active as an office 
seeker, his entire time being taken up by his professional duties. He is a 



316 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



member of the Roman Catholic church in which faith he was reared, his fa- 
ther having been one of the prominent figures in the affairs of the local church 
and treasurer of that organization for a number of years. Dr. Langenfcld be- 
longs to the Dodge County and Wisconsin State Medical Societies and has 
kept abreast with the advancement and progress which is constantly being made 
along medical lines. His profession required not only special equipment and 
knowledge but also a mind capable of quick and rapid concentration, a skill 
which is mechanical as well as scientific and a human understanding and sym- 
pathy. All these requirements for success Dr. Langenfcld possesses and upon 
them he has founded his prosperity. 



Edwin B. Patton has been successfully engaged in the drug business in 
Waupun since 1883. He was born September 26, 1858, in Byron, Fond du Lac 
county, and is a son of David and Harriet E. (Cowles) Patton, who settled 
in Wisconsin in the early '40s. The paternal grandfather was John Patton and 
the grandmother Aurelia (Kibbe) Patton, the former a native of Perth, Scot- 
land, and the latter of Massachusetts. John Patton emigrated to America at 
an early day, and purchased land from the father of James Fenimore Cooper, 
and was a playmate in his boyhood days of the American novelist. David Pat- 
ton, the father of our subject, established his home in Dodge county, Wiscon- 
sin, and there followed farming for a livelihood. He was a veteran of the 
Civil war and a member of Company D, Forty-fourth Regiment of Wisconsin 
Volunteers. He died in the spring of 1865 and the mother died in 1881. They 
were pioneers of Lcroy, Wisconsin, and when they bought their farm in Dodge 
county the title which they received was second in line of transfer from the 
government. 

Edwin B. Patton was reared in his parents' home and received his education 
in the public schools of Waupun. After completing his school years he re- 
ceived a second-grade teacher's certificate in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties 
and was engaged in teaching school in 1876 and 1878, commencing life in that 
work at the age of eighteen years. He later took up work in a drug store in 
Waupun in 1879 and obtained his license from the state as pharmacist in 1882. 
He was employed as a clerk in the drug establishment of R. W. Wells of Wau- 
pun and in 1883 he established himself in the drug business, in which he has 
since successfully continued. 

Mr. Patton was united in marriage on September 5, 1883, to Miss Clara 
M. Seely, who was born in Marquette, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. J. W. Seely. The father was engaged in the general practice of law 
in Waupun for many years and is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Patton have 
one son, Frederic W., who was born July 7. 1884, and after completing his early 
education in the public schools later pursued a full course in chemical engineer- 
ing at the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago and later was a gradu- 
ate of pharmacy at the Northwestern University in Chicago. 



EDWIN B. PATTON. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



317 



Mr. Patton is affiliated with the republican party and has fraternal rela- 
tions with Lodge No. 48, F. & A. «M., of Waupun, of which he is past master, 
and is also the present high priest of Waupun Chapter, No. 48, and is a thirty- 
second degree Mason. He also belongs to the Fraternal Reserve Insurance Com- 
pany of Wisconsin, of which he is president of the local council at Waupun. 
Mr. Patton stands high in the business circles of the city in which he lives and 
is a man whose integrity in business matters has never been questioned. He is 
one of the enterprising citizens of the county in which he lives and enjoys the 
good-will and esteem of all his associates. 



MICHAEL CASEY. 

Michael Casey is one of the well known and prosperous farmers of the town 
of Emmet, owning and cultivating one hundred and twenty acres of land in his 
home place, which is situated on section 15 and constitutes a well improved and 
valuable property. It was upon this farm that he was born September 12, 
1850, so that he is numbered among the older of the native sons of the county. 
His father, James Casey, was born in County Limerick, Ireland, where he 
grew to manhood and later he was married there to Bridget Shanahan, who 
was born and reared in the same county. They crossed the Atlantic to the new 
world about 1835, settling first in Massachusetts, where for five years Mr. 
Casey served as a watchman in a factory in the town of Lynn. In 1843 ne 
removed westward to Wisconsin, making permanent location in Dodge county, 
which was then a frontier district in which the work of improvement and de- 
velopment had scarcely been begun. He entered eighty acres of timber land 
and at once began to clear a portion in order that he might erect thereon a log 
cabin in the midst of the forest. His home completed, he turned his atten- 
tion to the further development of the place and acre by acre was brought under 
the plow. The family experienced the usual hardships and privations of pioneer 
life while living in this pioneer home during the early years of their resi- 
dence in the county. Mr. Casey shot his first deer from his own doorway and 
later killed a great number of deer in this district, beside much other wild 
game. The feathered denizens of the forest also contributed much to the fam- 
ily board and the streams and lakes of Wisconsin abounded in fish. The set- 
tlers, however, had little time to indulge in hunting or fishing as a pastime, 
using rod or gun only to supply the table. Mr. Casey cleared his land and made 
an additional purchase of forty acres, so that his farm comprised one hundred 
and twenty acres. Upon this, as the years advanced, he erected good buildings 
and there he reared his family and spent his last years, his death occurring in 
1889 when he was eighty-six years of age. He had for several years survived 
his wife, who passed away in 1881. 

Michael Casey was the second in order of birth in their family of three 
sons. His boyhood and youth acquainted him with the usual experiences of 
pioneer life on the farm. He attended the common schools as Opportunity of- 
fered and in the summer months worked in the fields, remaining with his father 
through his minority, later taking charge of the old homestead and ultimately 



318 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



succeeding to the ownership of the property. He has erected a large two-story 
residence upon his place, constituting one of the attractive modern homes of the 
district. He has also added to and remodeled the barn, which when built was 
one of the best in Dodge county. He likewise has a good house for a tenant 
upon his place and he uses the latest improved machinery in carrying on the 
work of the fields. He raises high-grade Holstein cattle, gives some attention 
to the dairy business and is a stockholder in the Tilden cheese factory. In 
business affairs his judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and his enter- 
prise unfaltering. 

On the 29th of October, 1890, in the town of Emmet, Mr. Casey was united 
in marriage to Miss Ella Fleming, who was born, reared and educated in the 
same neighborhood as her husband. They began their domestic life on the old 
Casey homestead and to them have been born four children: James Thomas, 
who is assisting in carrying on the home farm; Mary Catherine; Helen; and 
William John. 

In politics Mr. Casey is a democrat and has held several local offices. He 
served as treasurer of the town of Emmet for one term and after an interval 
was again elected to that office. He has been a delegate to county conventions 
and has been officially connected with the schools. His wife and family are 
members of the Catholic church and in the community where they make their 
home are highly esteemed, manifesting all the qualities of good citizenship and 
of individual worth. 



JOHN P. ROFFEIS. 

John P. Roffeis, who is serving for the second term as a member of the town 
board of supervisors of Emmet township, is justly numbered with the leading 
and enterprising farmers of his locality, as is evidenced by the neat and thrifty 
appearance of his farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which is situated on 
section 10. The attractiveness of Dodge county as a place of residence is indi- 
cated in the fact that a large majority of its native sons have been content to 
remain here, enjoying the advantages here offered and contributing to public 
progress by their active and helpful interest in public affairs. To this class 
belongs Mr. Roffeis, who was born in the town of Emmet, February 27, 1875. 
His father, John Roffeis, was a native of Austria, in which country he grew 
to manhood and was married. He soon afterward came to the new world, 
making his way direct to Wisconsin and taking up his abode in Dodge county 
in 1866. His first purchase of land made him owner of one hundred and twenty 
acres in the town of Emmet which had been partially cleared and improved. 
He at once undertook the task of further development and for some years 
lived upon that place, converting the land into rich and productive fields. After 
his children were grown he removed to Watertown, where he now- resides. 

John P. Roffeis was reared upon the old homestead farm and acquired his 
primary education in the common schools. He afterward attended the Water- 
town parochial school and when his education was completed he returned to 
the farm and took charge of the place. He has followed agricultural pursuits 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



319 



throughout his entire life and practical experience and growing business ability 
have placed him among the substantia] agriculturists of his community. There 
have been few idle hours in his life. He has always been a busy man and that 
his labors have been intelligently directed is indicated in the excellent appearance 
of his place. Since his father removed to Watertown, in 1910, John P. Roffeis 
has built to and remodeled the house and has also put an addition to the barn. 
He likewise has a good tool house and granary upon his place and all equipments 
and accessories of a model farm of the twentieth century. In addition to tilling 
the soil he has a herd of high-grade Holstein cattle and is conducting a successful 
dairy business. He is likewise a stockholder in the Union cheese factory. 

Mr. Roffeis was married in Emmet on the 3d of June, 1902, to Miss Mary 
Kreuziger, who was born and reared on an adjoining farm. They began their 
domestic life where they still reside and they are well known residents of this 
locality, having many warm friends in the neighborhood. They have one daugh- 
ter, Virginia, born July 10, 1910. Their religious belief is indicated by their 
membership in the Watertown Catholic church. 

Politically Mr. Roffeis is a democrat, stalwart in his support of the party. 
He was elected a member of the town board and after serving for one term was 
reelected and is now serving for the second term as supervisor of Emmet. He 
is a careful, conservative, yet progressive business man and citizen and enjoys 
in full measure the high regard and good-will of all with whom he has come 
into contact. 



LOUIS M. BACHHUBER, M. D. 

Dr. Louis M. Bachhuber is engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery 
at Mayville, and his efforts are attended with excellent results. He is a native 
of Dodge county, having been born in Farmersville, March 5, 1870. His father, 
Max Bachhuber, was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 13, 1832, and came 
to America in 1846. After residing for a time at Addison, Washington county, 
Wisconsin, he removed to Milwaukee, where he lived until 1855 and then, at 
the age of twenty-three years, established his home in Leroy, Dodge county, 
There he owned a farm and also conducted a general store. He likewise held 
various town offices and was accorded still higher public honor, being elected 
to the Wisconsin state legislature, in which he served from i860 until 1864, and 
was again elected in 1875. For nine years he served as postmaster of Farmers- 
ville and then resigned in favor of his wife, who filled the office until 1879. His 
death occurred on the 2d of February of that year. He was a democrat in his 
political views and a Catholic in religious faith. In the family were twelve 
children, three of whom are deceased. 

Dr. Bachhuber pursued his education in St. Andrew's parochial school of 
Leroy and was graduated from the Mayville high school with the class of 1889. 
He then determined to enter upon the practice of medicine and for that purpose 
became a student in -the medical school of the Northwestern University at Chi- 
cago, from which he was graduated in 1893. In May of that year he located 
for practice in Mayville, where he has remained continuously since, and through- 



320 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



out the intervening years he has kept in touch with advanced scientific methods, 
thus being able to render effective and resultant service in checking the ravages 
of disease. He is now state medical examiner for the Catholic Knights of Wis- 
consin, is surgeon for the Northwestern Iron Company of Mayville and for the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company in Dodge county, and in 
addition has an extensive private practice which makes constant demand upon 
his time and energies. 

Dr. Bachhuber was married May 15, 1894, to Miss Alice Griffith, a daughter 
of Leonard Griffith, of Clark county, Wisconsin, who was a veteran of the Civil 
war and was incarcerated for some time in Andersonville prison. He served 
in the Wisconsin cavalry and was most loyal to the cause which he espoused. 
For some time he followed farming in Clark county but volunteered for the war 
from Dodge county. He married Amelia Reible and- their children included 
Mrs. Bachhuber, who by her marriage has become the mother of one daughter, 
Phyllis. 

While well known in professional connections, Dr. Bachhuber is also promi- 
nent in matters of citizenship, being recognized as a leader in democratic circles 
in Dodge county. He was elected mayor of Mayville in 1907, again in 1908, and 
for a third term in 1910, his reelections being strong proof of his capability and 
fidelity in office. He was also a delegate to the national democratic convention 
at Baltimore from the Second congressional district in 1912. He holds member- 
ship with the Catholic Knights at Mayville and the Knights of Columbus at 
Fond du Lac, while along strictly professional lines he is connected with the 
State Medical Society. He holds to a high standard in his professional service 
and the work which he has accomplished places him in a prominent position 
among the representatives of the medical profession in Dodge county. 



F. S. Jacobs has been a resident of Waupun since 1889, since which time 
he has been engaged in the elevator business, formerly at Atwater, Wisconsin, 
but since 1906 has had charge of the Farmers Elevator at Waupun. He was 
born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, July 19, 1848, and is a son of Justin and 
Mahala L. Jacobs, both of whom were natives of New York and who settled 
in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1848. The father was engaged in farming until 
1889, when he retired and established his home in Waupun, where the mother 
died in 1902 and the father in 191 1, at the age of ninety-six years and six months. 
He was one of the well known local preachers of the Methodist church and a 
man of consistent living and Christian character. In his family were seven 
children, only two of whom survive: F. S., of this review; and Mrs. A. 
F. Page, of South Dakota. Two of the sons, Curtis J. and Justin, served in the 
Civil war, in which the former was killed. Justin was admitted to the bar in 
1871 and later became principal of the Waupun school. In 1874 he went to 
California and in 1892 was elected judge of Kings county, that state, which 
office he held until 1898. Jane's death occurred while she was a resident of 
South Dakota and Alice passed away in Waupun. One died in infancy. 



F. S. JACOBS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



321 



F. S. Jacobs was reared at home and received his early education in the pub- 
He schools. He later pursued a course at Ripon College, Wisconsin, after which 
he was a student at the State University of Madison. After completing his 
school years he went to Atwater, Wisconsin, in 1874, and in that city engaged in 
the grain business. He built a station on the line of the railroad and was there 
employed as station agent and telephone operator for a number of years. He 
was also postmaster and served as town clerk until 1900. He built an elevator 
at Atwater and while engaged as station agent at that place he also conducted a 
grain and elevator business. In 1900 he sold out the property and traveled on 
the road buying grain until 1906, when he took charge of the Farmers Elevator 
Company at Waupun. This company was organized in 1906 with a capital 
stock of ten thousand dollars divided into one thousand shares of the par value 
of ten dollars each. The company is a Wisconsin corporation and the first 
officers were: H. B. Landaal, president; W. F. Pautsch, vice president; M. B. 
Johnson, secretary; E. A. Marsh, treasurer; and W. D. Pattee, James Whooley 
and F. C. Hazen, who are also directors. The stock of this company is now 
divided among four hundred and twenty stockholders, all of whom are farmers, 
and no stockholder is allowed to have over ten shares of the capital stock. The 
company has paid a dividend of ten per cent per annum on its capital stock. 
It has recently spent two thousand dollars in repairs and improvements and 
now has a capacity of twenty-five thousand bushels. Its present board of direct- 
ors is as follows: J. W. Kasten, W. D. Pattee, W. H. Towne, W. F. Pautsch, 
James Whooley, Fred Milhie and A. T. Dunham, of whom J. W. Kasten is 
president; W. D. Pattee, vice president; W. H. Towne, secretary; and W. F. 
Pautsch, treasurer. 

In 1876 Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage to Mrs. Nettie Bruce, of Atwater, 
and they are the parents of two children : Justin, who is proprietor of a laundry 
in Waupun ; and May, who is the wife of Oscar H. Anderson, a farmer of Dodge 
county. Mrs. Jacobs is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Jacobs is an 
alderman representing the First ward of Waupun, and fraternally is a member 
of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias lodges. He has the distinction of 
being the oldest grain buyer in his part of the state and is a man held in high 
esteem by a large circle of friends among whom he is known to be a man of 
absolute integrity in business transactions and of high moral ideas in private 
life. 



AUGUST J. KOEPSELL. 

August J. Koepsell, proprietor of one of the leading drug stores in May- 
ville, Wisconsin, was born in Lebanon, on August 12, 1875, and is a son of 
Ferdinand and Katie (Heller) Koepsell. His father was born in Pommern, 
Germany, in 1833, and was brought to America when he was only two years 
of age, the family settling in Lebanon, Dodge county, Wisconsin. He moved 
to Herman township in 1887 and followed general fanning in that section until 
he retired from active life in 1912. He and his wife are now living in May- 
ville. 



322 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



August J. Kocpsell was one of a family of twelve children. He received 
his education in the district schools of Lebanon and later attended the Mayville 
high school. He served an apprenticeship under E. Sauerhering, a well known 
druggist, for three and one-half years, and this experience gave a definite bem 
to his ambition. He resigned his position in order to enter the University of 
Illinois from which institution he was graduated in 1903. He returned to May- 
ville and on August 1, of the following year, established himself in the drug 
business. His success was rapid and after one year's activity he was able to 
purchase on August 14, 1905, the store operated by Mr. Sauerhering, his former 
employer. He combined the two enterprises and is now the proprietor of the 
leading pharmacy in the city. By energy, determination and enterprise, directed 
along business lines, he has attained a reputation as an active, far-sighted and 
sagacious business man, whose present prosperity is merely the beginning of a 
more gratifying future. He owns one of the most prosperous drug stores in 
Mayville and has won his success by close application to business, earnest labor 
and practical application of scientific principles. 

On Thanksgiving Day, 1905, Mr. Koepsell was united in marriage to Miss 
Amanda Hening, a daughter of John and Erncstina Hening of Mayville. They 
became the parents of three chilidren : Florence, whose birth occurred in 1906 ; 
Raymond, who was born in 1907; and Edna, who was born in 1909. 

Mr. Koepsell is an example of the modern type of business man, shrewd, 
keen and thoroughly efficient. He has built up the enterprise with which he 
is connected from the beginning and has made it by straightforward, honor- 
able and intelligent methods one of the leading establishments of its kind in 
this city. 



Nathan Haessly is secretary of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of 
Theresa, a position which he has held since 1896. His identification with his 
present line of activity dates from 1895 and the quality of his work and his rapid 
progress have made him one of the enterprising business men of the village. He 
is a native son of Fond du Lac county, having been born in Ashford township, 
March 9, 1868. His father, Jacob Haessly, was one of the pioneers in the settle- 
ment of the state of Wisconsin and came to Fond du Lac county from his native 
state of Pennsylvania in 1848. He followed farming practically all his active 
life and also did much surveying work, holding the position of county surveyor 
for over thirty-eight years. He owned one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
Ashford township which he cultivated and improved along modern lines and 
upon which he is now living retired. He married Miss Sarah Fitzpatrick, a 
native of Ohio, of Irish parentage. The parents of our subject are still active 
and interested in the development of the state to which they came as pioneers. 
They are still residing upon the homestead. 

Nathan Haessly is the youngest in a family of thirteen children. He at- 
tended the district schools of his native section and began his active career by 
conducting a harness business in the village, establishing a shop in 1893. He 



NATHAN HAESSLY. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



323 



managed this business for ten years but in the meantime became identified 
with the fire insurance business in 1895. In 1897 he was elected secretary 
of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company and has continued in that office since 
that time. He is also interested in an up-to-date garage and has the agency for 
the Buick and Rambler automobiles. In December, 191 1, he purchased the flour 
and feed mill in Theresa and has acted as president of the company since that 
time. He is treasurer of the Theresa Union Telephone Company and president 
of the new electric light company and evidences in his conduct of the affairs of 
these important and representative enterprises the industry, intelligence, dis- 
crimination and power of constructive organization which have made his career 
successful. 

In November, 1 89 1, Mr. Haessly was united in marriage in Chicago, to Miss 
Mary Mauel, a native of Ashford township. They have six children, Hilary, 
Florence, Mildred, Edgar, Priscilla and Caesar. 

Mr. Haessly gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is a public- 
spirited citizen, although he prefers to do his duty in this regard by making his 
private activities useful in promoting commercial growth and development. He 
belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus. He 
has many friends in Theresa where his business attainments are well known and 
where his qualities endear him to all with whom he comes in contact. 



HERMAN E. KRUEGER. 

Herman E. Krueger is a native son of Watertown and has lived his entire 
life in his home at No. 707 North Fourth street. He is well known in local 
democratic politics and is serving as assessor, having previously held various 
other important positions. By discharging his duties ably and efficiently he has 
made a record as an honest, conscientious, and upright public servant and has 
become an influential factor in the advancement of his district. He was born 
April 22, 1868, a son of Adolph and Antonia (Nowack) Krueger, natives of 
Germany, who came to America, landing at New York. They came west to 
Wisconsin and settled in Watertown where the father worked at his trade of 
wagon-making until his death. 

Herman Krueger is the seventh in a family of nine children. He received 
his education in the public schools of Watertown. At the age of sixteen he 
laid aside his books and obtained a position as clerk for the Bee Hive factory, 
operated by the G. B. Lewis Company. For seven years he retained this posi- 
tion and was then promoted to the office of foreman of the shipping depart- 
ment, acting in this capacity for eighteen years and doing able, conscientious 
and effective work. 

On June 20, 1893, Mr. Krueger was united in marriage to Miss Lena Hab- 
hagger, a daughter of Ulrich and Lena ( Gfcller) Habhagger, natives of Switzer- 
land, who came to America in 1853 and located in Watertown. Three years later 
they moved to a farm in Polk county. Iowa, upon which they resided until 1861 
when they returned to Watertown and established their residence in this city. 
The father engaged in the general commission business until 1867 when he re- 



324 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



sumed farming and for two years carried on general agricultural pursuits. In 
1869 he again became identified with the commission business and in this con 7 
tinued until 1893 when he retired from active life. He died May 12, 191 2, and 
is buried in Oak Hill cemetery. His wife resides at No. 802 North Fourth 
street, Watertown. Mrs. Krueger is the fifth in a family of eight children and 
was born March 3, 1868, in Emmet township. She received her education in 
the Watertown public schools and remained at home until her marriage. Mr. 
and Mrs. Krueger became the parents of three children: Anita, who is a 
graduate of the Watertown high school, and has taught school for one year ; 
Alice, who resides at home and who will graduate from the Watertown high 
school with the class of 1913; and Harold, who is a pupil in the public schools. 

Mr. Krueger gives his allegiance to the democratic party and has for many 
years been prominent in local affairs, serving in various important public offices 
and discharging his duties in an able and practical way. In 1899 ne was elected 
alderman from the Sixth ward and served for six years, acting as president of 
the city council for two years of that time. In 1905 he was elected supervisor 
and served four years, entering upon his present office in 1909. Mr. Krueger 
belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is a member of the Platt- 
deutscher Verein. For many years he has been actively interested in the growth 
and advancement of his native city and has always done his utmost to promote 
development. He was a member of the volunteer fire department for eighteen 
years and served as treasurer of that organization for ten. His public career 
exemplifies the highest political virtues — honesty, conscientiousness, and labor, 
which is never self-seeking. He has besides an intelligent comprehension of 
local needs and conditions and a resourceful ability which is the most marked 
quality of his public service. 



GUSTAV R. ROUSSEAU. 

Gustav R. Rousseau, postmaster of the village of Theresa and an honored 
veteran of the Spanish-American war, was born in Pomerania, Germany, on 
the 25th of February, 1873. He is a son of Charles and Wilhelmina (Molden- 
hauer) Rousseau, natives of Germany, where the father lived and died. After- 
ward the mother of our subject married William Beitz and they came to America 
in October, 1882, settling at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, where they remained 
for a year and a half. At the end of that time they moved to Brownsville, where 
they have since resided. William Beitz was a farmer and followed this line of 
activity from the time of his arrival in America until his retirement. He and 
his wife have five children, two sons and three daughters. 

Gustav R. Rousseau was educated in the district schools of Dodge county 
and later attended the Mayville high school, graduating from that institution in 
1895. He entered Oshkosh Normal, from which he was graduated in 1897 and 
for eight months afterward taught in the schools of Sheboygan Falls. In 1898 
he enlisted in Company C, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served 
through the campaign in Porto Rico and was mustered out with honorable dis- 
charge, November 15, of the same year. When he returned home he again 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



825 



engaged in his former profession, teaching in the graded schools of the village 
of Theresa for four years. For one year he was identified with the Wisconsin 
Sugar Company and for three years thereafter served as mail carrier. He was 
village clerk and justice of the peace for some time and was appointed to his 
present position of postmaster in 1906 and has since served with ability and 
conscientiousness. He is also conducting an independent fire insurance agency, 
acting in the interests of several important companies, and is doing, besides able 
work as secretary of the local fire department. 

Mr. Rousseau has been twice married. On January 15, 1903, he wedded 
Miss Alexa Wiesenbacher, who passed away on the 7th of September, 1905. 
She was a daughter of Joseph and Caroline .(Gigl) Wiesenbacher, the former 
a prominent liquor dealer in Theresa. To this union was born a daughter, 
Cynthia, who lives at home. On November 8, 191 1, Mr. Rousseau was again 
married. His second wife was Miss Julia Anninger, a daughter of Joseph and 
Margaret Anninger, the former a foreman in the Marschville Cement Works 
at Theresa Station. 

Mr. Rousseau gives his allegiance to the republican party, and is well known 
in the affairs of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has a record of six 
years' successful service as postmaster of the village, bringing to the discharge 
of his duties a conscientiousness, ability and energy which have made other 
enterprises with which he is connected prosperous. He gives his active support 
to movements for the general welfare and is in all things capable of making his 
public spirit effective for good. 



GUSTAV RUECKER. 

Gustav Ruecker is conducting a retail meat market in Theresa and has been 
the proprietor of this enterprise since 1898, during which time he has become 
well known in business circles of the village as a man of honorable commercial 
standards and of enterprising spirit. Aside from his meat market he is con- 
nected with various important local concerns, including the State Bank of Theresa, 
of which he is the president and a director. He has been in America since 
1892, but was born in Bohemia on the 8th of March, 1865. His father, Wenzel 
Ruecker, was a harness-maker by trade and followed this line of occupation in 
the old country until his death, which occurred in 1887. The mother of our 
subject, who was in her maidenhood Miss Francesca Rudlof, was also a native 
of Bohemia, and died in that country in 1891. 

Gustav Ruecker received .an excellent education in the public schools and 
after laying aside his books learned the butcher's trade. When he was fifteen 
years of age he began working at this occupation and continued in it until Decem- 
ber 2, 1892, when he came to America and settled in Chicago. There he re- 
mained for a year and a half before locating in Medfprd, Wisconsin, whence 
he went to Phillips and then to Kohlville, in Washington county, working at the. 
butcher's trade in all of these cities. In Kohlville he established himself as an 
independent merchant and there met with gratifying success for over a year, 
building up a prosperous and flourishing enterprise during that time. On Janu- 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ary 20, 1898, he settled in Theresa and purchased his present store, which he 
has conducted since that time. His business has expanded yearly under his able 
management and has grown to be one of the important concerns of its kind in 
the village. Industry and well directed activity have been factors in his success 
and have placed him in the ranks of the representative and successful men of 
Theresa. He does a retail business largely but for the last six- or seven years 
has added to his income by shipping stock to the Chicago markets. He is the 
president of the Theresa State Bank and a shareholder in that institution, as 
well as actively interested in various other local enterprises. 

On the 15th of October, 1892, Mr. Ruecker was united in marriage in his 
native land to Miss Mary Zienezker, a native of Bohemia, and they have four 
children, Richard, Anna, Ludmilla and Gabriela. The family belong to the 
Roman Catholic church. As the proprietor of a well conducted business and 
the president of an important bank Mr. Ruecker has become prominent and well 
known in Theresa and his sterling qualities have gained for him the esteem of 
those who know him. 



HUGH ALEXANDER McCONAGHY. 

The energies of the late Hugh Alexander McConaghy were for many years 
successfully devoted to general farming and stock-raising in Beaver Dam town- 
ship, where he owned ninety-four acres of well improved land, located on section 
18. His life record was begun at Columbus, this state, on the 30th of November, 
1850, his parents being Bartholomew and Eliza (O'Harra) McConaghy. The 
father, who was born and reared in the north of Ireland emigrated to America 
in his early manhood, locating in New Brunswick, where he followed his trade, 
which was that of ship-building. There he met and married the mother, who 
was a native of New Brunswick. In the early period of their married life they 
removed to Calais, Maine, residing there until 1849, when they came to Wis- 
consin, which was then known as the western frontier district. They located in 
Columbia county, but nine years later, in 1858, they became residents of Dodge 
county. Here the father purchased seventy-three acres of section 18. which 
formed the nucleus of the homestead of his son, Hugh. The cultivation of this 
place occupied the attention of the father during the remainder of his active 
life, his death occurring on his farm, on the 30th of August, 1885, at the age of 
seventy years. He had long survived the mother, who was forty years old 
when she passed away on February 11, 1863. They are both buried in the 
cemetery at South Beaver Dam. 

The early life of Hugh Alexander McConaghy was very similar to that of 
other pioneer lads. In his boyhood he attended the district schools and was 
trained in the work of the fields and care of the stock, thus qualifying himself 
for an agricultural career. He remained at home until he was twenty- 
one years of age when he joined an uncle at Leavenworth, Kansas, remaining 
in his employ for three years. At the expiration of that time he went to northern 
Wisconsin, working in the pineries in the winter and on the farms in that section 
during the summer months. His next removal was to North Dakota, where 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 829 

he filed on a homestead and engaged in farming for himself. Selling his claim 
in 1880, he started eastward and for five years thereafter resided in Minneapolis. 
After the death of his father he returned to Dodge county, taking possession of 
the old homestead in Beaver Dam township. Here he followed diversified 
farming, stock-raising and dairying. His cattle were a good grade of the Hol- 
stein breed, while he raised both Poland China and Duroc Jersey hogs. Mr. 
McConaghy was both enterprising and diligent and subsequently increased his 
holdings by the purchase of another twenty-one acres. The land was brought 
under cultivation and well improved during the period of his ownership, and 
it is now one of the valuable properties of the community He remodeled the 
residence, which was built during the lifetime of his father and erected a barn, 
thirty-four by fifty feet with a cement floor. His entire tract is fenced with 
barbed wire and all but twenty acres of it under cultivation. Mr. McConaghy 
passed away on the 25th of November, 1903, but his widow continues to make 
her home on the farm, which is operated by their son-in-law. 

On the 7th of September, 1886, Mr. McConaghy was married to Miss Abigail 
J. Roberts, a daughter of Owen and Elizabeth (Mason) Roberts. The parents 
were both natives of south Wales but were married in Marquette county, this 
state, in 1849. About 1853, they came to Dodge county, purchasing fifty acres 
of land, in the cultivation of which the father engaged until he passed away in 
1863. at the age of thirty-two years. The mother retained the farm until 1882, 
when she disposed of it, investing the proceeds in a sixty-acre tract in Calamus 
township. She lived to pass the seventy-third anniversary of her birth, her 
death occurring in 1895. They were both laid to rest in the cemetery at Beaver 
Dam. Mrs. McConaghy is the fifth in order of birth in a family of six, her 
natal day having been the 28th of September, 1859. She is the mother of one 
daughter, Abbie Bell, who married Harry Welch of Westford, this county, and 
has one child, Florence Mildred. They reside with the mother on the McConaghy 
farm. 

Mr. McConaghy was a member of the Presbyterian church, as also is his 
widow, and fraternally he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, while his political allegiance was accorded to the republican party. A 
man of estimable qualities he was held in favorable regard in his community, 
where he had passed the greater period of his life and had many stanch friends. 



GEORGE WILLIAM CUTLER. 

George William Cutler is now ably discharging the duties devolving upon him 

in the capacity of city clerk of Horicon, to which position he was elected on the 

2d of April, 191 2. His birth occurred in Oak Grove township, Dodge county, 

on the 24th of December, 1877, his parents being Charles and Lizzie (Triden) 

Cutler The father was born at North Adams. Massachusetts, in January, 1847, 

while the mother's birth occurred at Richfield, Wisconsin, on the 1 ith of July, 

1857. Their marriage was celebrated in this state. Charles Cutler came west 

in company with his parents, who took up their abode near what is now Rolling 

Prairie, in Oak Grove township, this county. There he grew to manhood and 
vol n-i» 



330 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



eventually became a landowner, devoting his attention to general agricultural 
pursuits throughout his entire business career. In his demise, which occurred 
on the 7th of April, 1887, the community lost one of its substantial and esteemed 
citizens. His widow still survives and makes her home in Milwaukee. They 
were the parents of four children, as follows: George William, of this review; 
Bert, who is employed as a moulder in the Van Brunt factory at Horicon ; Marie, 
the wife of John Evans, who has charge of the stock room at the Van Brunt 
factory; and Roy, a railroad man who lives with his mother at No. 642 Thirty- 
sixth street in Milwaukee. 

George William Cutler obtained his early education at Rolling Prairie and 
later continued his studies in the Horicon high school. He remained under the 
parental roof until twenty-four years of age, when he was married and estab- 
lished a home of his own. After attaining his majority he worked as a farm 
hand for one year and subsequently learned the core maker's trade in the Van 
Brunt factory, where he has been retained to the present time as an efficient and 
faithful employe. 

On the 1st of January, 1902, Mr. Cutler was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
Olson, who was born near Willmar, Kandiyohi county, Minnesota, on the 26th 
of February, 1875, her parents being Ole Rasmussen and Stena (Christensen) 
Rasmussen, natives of Denmark. They emigrated to the United States at an 
early day, locating in Minnesota, where Mrs. Rasmussen still resides. The 
father, however, passed away in Denmark, in 1878, while on a visit to his native 
land. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cutler have been born five children, as follows: 
Gladys L., whose birth occurred on the 7th of September, 1902, and who died in 
infancy; Harold, who was born on the 12th of October, 1903; Eva Marie, whose 
natal day was November 7, 1906; Charles Frederick, who was born on the 
26th of November, 1910, and died on the 9th of March, 191 1 ; and Francis Walter, 
twin brother of Charles Frederick. 

Politically Mr. Cutler is an independent democrat and at local elections casts 
his ballot in support of the men and measures that he deems will best conserve 
the general welfare. On the 2d of April, 1912, he was elected city clerk and 
is now filling that position in a highly satisfactory and commendable manner. 
He belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and acts as secretary of the local 
organization. In the community where his entire life has been spent he enjoys 
an enviable reputation as a representative and respected citizen. 



JULIUS W. FALK. 

Julius W. Falk is operating in Mayvillc the oldest creamery in Dodge county 
and is numbered among the men of the district who are representative of the 
highest and most upright business standards. His enterprise was founded in 
1 881 and has been operated continuously since that time, Mr. Falk assuming 
ownership in 1905. By reason of his expert training in butter and cheese-making 
and his business ability and shrewdness, he has made the concern expand along 
modern lines of development, until it is not only the oldest but also one of the 
most important in the county. Mr. Falk was born near Lima, Ohio, June 16, 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1872, a son of Carl and Wilhclmina (Huptke) Falk, natives of Germany. His 
father came to America in 1871 but returned to his native country in the fall 
of the following year, remaining there until 1883 when he returned to the United 
States and settled in Mayville with his family. He is now residing in Kekoskee, 
where he engages in work of various kinds. 

Julius W. Falk is the youngest in a family of five children. He attended the 
public schools of Kekoskee and when he laid aside his books, worked upon a 
farm for a number of years. In 1890 he learned the cheese and butter-making 
trade and has been connected with the operation of enterprises along this line 
since that time. He spent some years in Greenwood, Clark county, and came 
to Mayville in 1905, where he established himself in the dairy business at his 
present location. Mr. Falk has managed this concern in a progressive and 
enterprising way and has earned a place among the representative citizens of 
Mayville by reason of his business ability and his upright commercial standards. 

On November 20, 1900, Mr. Falk was united in marriage to Miss Theresa 
Fitchlscherer, a daughter of Franz and Barbara Fitchlscherer, natives of Ger- 
many. They are now residing in Waupun, Wisconsin, where the father is 
engaged in the brewing business. Mr. and Mrs. Falk have six children, Frank, 
Margaret, Clarence, Rosa, Julia and Edward. 

Mr. Falk is well known in the affairs of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and is a prominent figure in business circles of Mayville. He has invested his 
money judiciously, mostly in real estate, and has a number of town lots in the 
village in which he resides, as well as eighty acres of land in Clark county. He 
gives his allegiance to the republican party and is now serving as alderman from 
the third ward, discharging his public duties ably and conscientiously and always 
with a view to serving the best interests of his fellow citizens. 



CLARENCE A. WHEELER. 

Clarence A. Wheeler, a well known and enterprising representative of agri- 
cultural interests in Dodge county, has spent his entire life within its borders and 
resides on the farm in Williamstown township where he was born. His birth 
occurred on the 1st of August, 1865, his parents being Alfred and Mary (Brodt) 
Wheeler, both of whom were natives of New York. The father, who was born 
in 1824, came to Wisconsin with his brother in 1844 ar| d purchased two hundred 
and twenty-seven and three-fourths acres in Williamstown township, this county, 
where he established his home and where all of his children were born. His 
brother purchased more than six hundred and forty acres of land here. Alfred 
Wheeler improved his property, erected substantial and commodious buildings 
and here spent the remainder of his life, passing away on the 20th of September, 
191 1. He was among the very earliest settlers of this county and lived here for 
two-thirds of a century, gaining an enviable reputation as an agriculturist and 
highly esteemed citizen. His wife was called to her final rest in 1886. To them 
were born five children, as follows: Lavina, deceased; John, a resident of Ke- 
koskee, Wisconsin ; Leonard, who has passed away ; Clarence A., of this review ; 
and Flora, deceased. 



332 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Clarence A. Wheeler attended the schools of his native township in the 
acquirement of an education and subsequently assisted his father in the operation 
of the home farm. On attaining his majority he rented the place from his father 
and after the latter's demise received sixty-three and three-fourths acres as his 
share of the estate. He devotes his attention principally to dairy farming and 
has twenty-six head of high-grade Holstein cattle. 

On the 2d of May, 1893, Mr. Wheeler was united in marriage to Miss Bertha 
Schultz, a daughter of William and Albertina Schultz, who came to the United 
States from Germany in 1872 and took up their abode among the early settlers 
of Dodge county, Wisconsin. To our subject and his wife have been born six 
children, namely: Leslie, whose birth occurred on the 27th of November, 1895; 
Harvey, whose natal day was March 2, 1899; Edgar, who was born on the 2d 
of May, 1902; Leora, born October 2, 1904; Clarence, who was born on the 21st 
of June, 1909, and passed away on the 9th of December, 1909; and Hazel, born 
June 20, 1912. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Wheeler has cast 
his ballot in support of the men and measures of the republican party. His 
religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. His life has been one of con- 
tinuous activity, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of his 
community. 



John A. Loehrke has been engaged in the hotel business in Mayville since 
1903 and has been connected with the management of the Grand Hotel as pro- 
prietor for two years. This is a well kept hostelry with all the convenient fea- 
tures found in the finer modern hotels and Mr. Loehrke's able conduct of the 
enterprise entitles him to be ranked among the representative business men of 
the village. A fine livery which he operates in connection with the hotel is an 
important extension of his interests and his management of this establishment 
also has reflected credit upon his business ability. He is a native of Wisconsin, 
born at Ashford, Fond du Lac county, on the 12th of August, 1867. His father, 
John Loehrke, is a native of Germany, and came to America in 1840. He set- 
tled immediately in Fond du Lac county and there purchased one hundred and 
four acres of land and began its improvement and cultivation. Both he and 
him a substantial profit. 

John Loehrke of this review, is one of a family of five children. He was 
reared at home and educated in the public schools of Fond du Lac county and 
in the Ashford high school. When he completed his studies he became con- 
nected with the Milwaukee Street Railway Company, retaining his position for 
six years. When he left Milwaukee he went to Minnesota Junction and there 
worked as an engineer in the mills for some time. In 1898 he became engaged 
in a similar position in a sawmill in Forest county and in 1900 settled in May- 
ville. Here he took charge of the city electric light plant and for three years 
did able work in this capacity, abandoning it in 1903 in order to give his atten- 
tion to the management of the Beaumont Hotel which he had purchased. This 



JOHN A. LOEHRKE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



333 



enterprise he operated until 1910 when he bought the Grand Hotel which he has 
since conducted. He pays special attention to the comfort and convenience of 
his guests and strives in every way to make his hostelry modern and up-to-date 
in every department. In this he has succeeded to a gratifying degree. The 
livery business which he operates in connection with the hotel is also bringing 
him a substantial profit. 

On November 14, 1908, Mr. Loehrke was united in marriage to Miss Ida 
Marohl, a daughter of August Marohl, a native of Germany, who farmed in 
Wisconsin for a number of years. He has now passed away. Mr. and Mrs. 
Loehrke have one daughter, Esther, who lives at home. Mr. Loehrke is well 
known in business circles of Mayville as an enterprising, progressive and straight- 
forward man. As proprietor of the Grand Hotel he has made many friends 
outside of this district among the guests who have been his patrons, and his 
geniality and his sterling qualities have gained for him the esteem of all who 
know him. 



EMIL M. UEHLING. 

Emil M. Uehling is cultivating and developing the farm in Shields township 
upon which he was born and by progressive and practical methods has made it 
one of the valuable properties in this district. He owns one hundred and forty- 
five acres on section 24, adjoining the village of Richwood, and has other im- 
portant business connections in this part of Wisconsin. A native of Dodge 
county and the son of a pioneer in its settlement, Mr. Uehling was born upon 
the homestead July 26, 185 1. His father, Frederick Uehling, was a native of 
Saxony, Germany, and grew to manhood and married in that country. He 
was a butcher by trade and followed that occupation in Saxony for a number of 
years. In 1847 he crossed the Atlantic to America and came directly west to 
Wisconsin, where he made a permanent location in Dodge county. Here he pur- 
chased one hundred and twenty acres of wild timber land and in partnership 
with a neighbor cleared the dense growth of trees and from the lumber cut down 
built a log cabin in which he resided for some time. After a short period Mr. 
Uehling purchased his partner's interest in the land and gave his entire attention 
to its further improvement and development. By hard labor and unremitting 
industry he gradually cleared the entire tract, to which he later added eighty 
acres. Little by little this land was also brought under the plow and improve- 
ments made upon it. A sawmill was erected near Richwood and Mr. Uehling 
was successful in the conduct of this enterprise. He sawed all kinds of lumber 
and as his financial resources grew he installed a set of burrs and converted his 
mill into a grist and flour mill. This enterprise he managed for a number of 
years and met with well deserved prosperity. He raised a large family in Dodge 
county and died in this section in the fall of 1892. His widow, Margaret (Krug) 
Uehling, survives him and has reached the ninety-fourth year of her age. 

Emil M. Uehling is one of a family of eight sons and three daughters, all of 
whom grew to maturity. He was reared upon his father's property and his 
childhood was similar to that of most farmers' boys with the exception of the 
fact that his educational advantages were more extensive. He attended the 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



common schools of his native section and also studied under a private tutor 
whom his father employed for the family. This was later supplemented by a 
two years* course in the Northwestern University at Watertown, and when Mr. 
Uehling finally laid aside his books he was well equipped in training and educa- 
tion to face the world. He remained upon his father's farm for several years, 
aiding in its operation, and after renting the property for a time purchased it 
and has since given his entire time to its development and improvement. He 
remodeled the buildings which were already upon the property and made im- 
provements on the house and besides constructed two new barns and a silo with 
a cement floor, one of the first of its kind ever erected in Shields township. 
Mr. Uehling carries on general farming and is likewise extensively interested 
in stock-raising, breeding and fattening registered Holstein cattle, of which he 
has a herd of forty-five, with a fine registered animal at its head. For a num- 
ber of years Mr. Uehling has been conducting a model dairy upon his farm 
and uses the products of this branch of his enterprise in a cheese factory which 
he established and which he conducts along modern lines. He was one of the 
promoters of the Farmers Elevator Company of Richwood, which a few years 
ago burned down. He is numbered justly among the successful and enterprising 
farmers and the able and progressive business men and public-spirited citizens of 
Dodge county. 

On May 7, 1877, Mr. Uehling was united in marriage to Miss Alicia B. 
Volkert, a daughter of Adam Volkert, a pioneer in the settlement of Dodge 
county. Mrs. Uehling was born and reared in this section and remained at 
home until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Uehling became the parents of four 
children: Max, who passed away at the age of four years; Emmeline, who 
married Otto Roenius, of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, by whom she has two chil- 
dren, Carl and Elizabeth; Otto L., who is married and resides upon the home 
farm with his wife and daughter Dorothy ; and Frances, who lives at home. 

Mr. Uehling gives his allegiance to the democratic party but has never been 
active politically in the sense of office seeking. Since the beginning of his 
career he has been closely connected with agricultural interests in Dodge county 
and has gained a degree of success which makes him individually prosperous 
and a factor in the general development of this section. 



JOSEPH N. WELSCH. 

Joseph N. Welsch, who has owned and operated a livery stable in May- 
ville for the past four years, was born in Lomira township, this county, March 
28, 1882. He is a son of Leonard Welsch, for many years identified with the 
agricultural development of Lomira, but a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. The 
grandparents were born in Germany but in early life they came to the United 
States, becoming residents of the Keystone state. The mother, whose maiden 
name was Theresa Marx, is also of German extraction. 

The eldest child in a family of four, Joseph N. Welsch was reared at home 
and at the usual age began his education in the common schools of his native 
township. Having resolved to adopt a commercial career, he later went to 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



335 



Milwaukee and took a course in a business college, remaining in that city for 
six years. His first position was that of bookkeeper for the Milwaukee Coli- 
seum Company, following which he entered the employ of the Southwest Coal 
Company in the capacity of timekeeper. In 1908, he returned to Dodge county 
and established a livery stable at Mayville. His barn is well equipped and con- 
ducted and as it is the only enterprise of the kind in the town he is doing a 
profitable business. 

In September, 1908, Mr. Wetsch married Miss Mary Braun, a daughter of 
John and Anna Braun, natives of Germany, but now residents of Fond du 
Lac county, this state, where the father engages in farming. They are the par- 
ents of two daughters, Alice and Gertrude. 

In matters of religious faith, Mr. and Mrs. Welsch are consistent members 
of the Roman Catholic church. Although his connection with the business in- 
terests of Mayville has been comparatively short, it has been of sufficient length 
to enable Mr. Welsch to manifest those qualities which entitle him to the re- 
spect and esteem of his fellow townsmen. As a citizen he is public-spirited and 
progressive, while in matters of business he is trustworthy and reliable, con- 
ducting his transactions in an honest and upright manner. 



WILLIAM D. STACY. 

That William D. Stacy has done effective work as justice of the peace and 
gained the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens by conscientious and 
able administration of the affairs under his charge is evidenced by the fact 
that he has been reelected to office again and again and has a record of thirty- 
two years of continuous and faithful service. During this time he has been 
honored in this district as a judge possessed of a broad-minded tolerance which 
is not leniency and a courage of conviction which is not ostentatious. Since 
188 1 he has filled his present position and the quality of his work has effectively 
demonstrated his fitness. He has been a resident of Wisconsin since he was 
eight years of age but was born in Lindsay, Victoria county, Ontario, February 
10, 1839, a son of Benjamin and Mary (Dwyer) Stacy, the former a native of, 
County Wexford, Ireland, and the latter of County Tipperary. The pater- 
nal grandparents, Joseph and Mary (Murphy) Stacy, lived all their lives in 
County Wexford and died in that section. They had four children, William, 
Benjamin, Mary and Clarissa. Joseph Stacy was a devout member of the 
Presbyterian church, while his wife was an adherent of the Roman Catholic 
religion. The maternal grandparents of our subject were John and Nancy 
(Commons) Dwyer, also natives of Ireland, who moved to Canada at an early 
date and died in that country. They had a large family of children, among 
whom were Thomas, William, Mary. Catherine, Julia, Grace, Ann and Mar- 
garet. 

The father of our subject, Benjamin Stacy, was reared in Ireland upon a 
farm and early in life learned the tailoring trade, which he followed for some 
years in his native country. Crossing the Atlantic, he landed in Canada, set- 
tling in Quebec in 1824. There he bought a small tract of land, upon which 



336 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



he lived until he moved to Ontario, where he purchased a farm of two hun- 
dred acres, which he afterward improved and developed. For seven or eight 
years he conducted a general store at Lindsay and met with well deserved suc- 
cess. For some years his income was increased by the rent of a brewery which 
he built as an investment but this, together with his store, was later destroyed by 
fire. He disposed of what property remained and in 1847 came t0 Dodge 
county, settling upon a farm in Emmet township, which he developed until 
his death in 1873, when he was almost seventy-seven years of age. He was a 
man of broad culture and of excellent education and his interests lay largely 
along lines of progress in methods of public-school development. He demon- 
strated the force of some of his ideas while serving as school superintendent 
and did much able work in this capacity. He and his wife were members of 
the Roman Catholic church and always devout adherents of its doctrines. They 
had twelve children, six of whom grew to maturity, namely: William D., of 
this review; Mary, deceased; Benjamin, a resident of Waukesha county; Mar- 
garet, the wife of John Darcy, of Clyman township; Clarissa, deceased; and 
Joseph J., of Rossland, British Columbia. 

William D. Stacy was eight years of age when he came to Dodge county, 
and there he grew to manhood upon his father's farm. The traditions in his 
family and the example set him by his father taught him the value of an educa- 
tion and he improved every opportunity to increase his knowledge. He at- 
tended the district schools and read constantly when not at work in the fields, 
and when he was nineteen years, of age commenced making practical use of 
his learning by teaching in the public schools. For over twenty years he fol- 
lowed this occupation and during that time instructed many children in the 
specified branches, as well as in the comprehension of the true value and ad- 
vantage of culture and education. He moved to Jefferson county in 1865, and 
lived upon a farm in Watertown township from that date until 1873. It was 
not until 188 1, however, that he abandoned teaching, being elected in that year 
justice of the peace for the first time and entering upon a period of thirty-two 
years of faithful service. His judgments are known to be fair-minded and 
tolerant and his standards of integrity high, and his fellow citizens have re- 
warded his intelligent work by retaining him in office and at the same time have 
benefited themselves by securing a competent and just official. 

On the nth of September, 1865, Mr. Stacy was united in marriage to Miss 
Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, who was born in Watertown township, September 5, 
1845, a daughter of Thomas and Mary Hughes (Reynolds) Fitzpatrick, natives 
of Ireland, the former born in County Wexford and the latter in County Louth. 
Mrs. Stacy's paternal grandparents were Morgan and Mary (Carroll) Fitz- 
patrick. Her parents came to America about the year 1845 ano * settled first in 
Gardiner, Maine, coming from that state to Watertown, where they passed the 
remainder of their lives. iMrs. Stacy was the only child born to their union. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Stacy seven children were born: Benjamin, who passed away 
when he was twenty-eight years of age; William, who is a printer in Water- 
town and who married Miss Catherine Ryan, by whom he has three children; 
Edward, who is superintendent of a candy factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
and who married Miss Anna Jones, by whom he has five children, Ruth, Benja- 
min, Anna, Edna and William; Frank J., who has charge of a candy factory 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



33? 



in Fort Worth, Texas, and who married Miss Mary Enright, by whom he has 
two children; Mary J., who was a teacher in the public schools of Watertown 
and whose death occurred when she was twenty-seven years of age; Clement 
S., who is engaged in the grocery business in Waterloo, Wisconsin, and who 
married Miss Anna Green, by whom he has three children, Clement, Frank 
and Gerald ; and Bessie, who married Julius Podolske, of Watertown, by whom 
she has three children, Richard S., Joseph and Edward A. 

Mr. Stacy is one of the foremost men in Watertown at the present time, by 
virtue of his position and by reason of his qualities and standards. The char- 
acter of his interests is manifested by the nature of the work to which he has 
devoted his energies, his school-teaching and his public life, in both of which 
he has given his attainments and knowledge to the service of others. 



FRED HELLING. 

Fred Helling, engaged in the cultivation of an excellent farm of eighty 
acres in Williamstown township, has lived thereon throughout his entire life, 
his birth occurring on the 22d of May, 1869. His parents were Fred and Dora 
(Dehring) Helling, both of whom were natives of Germany, the former born 
on the 12th of January, 1827, and the latter on the 20th of September, 1829. 
It was about 1855 * na * Fred Helling, Sr., emigrated to the United States, com- 
ing to Wisconsin and purchasing land near Chester, Dodge county. He re- 
sided there for about four years and then purchased land in the town of The- 
resa, where he made his home for about six years. About 1868 he purchased 
the farm of eighty acres which is now in possession of our subject, continuing 
to reside thereon until within two years of his death. His last days were spent 
in Mayville, where he passed away in February, 1898, after a residence of more 
than four decades in this county. He had won success in his undertakings as 
an agriculturist and was widely recognized as a substantial and esteemed citi- 
zen of the community. It was about 1857 that he wedded Miss Dora Dehring, 
who had emigrated to this country with her sisters and located in Wisconsin. 
Her demise occurred on the 23d of May, 1885. She became the mother of 
nine children, five of whom survive, as follows : Mary, who is the wife of Charles 
Bonack, of Williamstown township, Dodge county; Anna, who gave her hand 
in marriage to Louis Kurtz, of Mayville, Wisconsin; Fred, of this review; 
Emma, who is the widow of Fred Steitz and resides in Mayville; and Frank, 
living in Williamstown township. 

Fred Helling obtained his education in the district schools and after putting 
aside his text-books assisted his father in the work of the home farm until the 
latter's retirement. At that time the entire management of the property de- 
volved upon him and he has since operated the same on his own account. The 
place comprises eighty acres and is well improved in every particular. He has 
brought his fields to a high state of cultivation and golden harvests annually 
reward his labors. 

On the 5th of November, 1895, Mr. Helling was united in marriage to Miss 
Lina Spiegelberg, a daughter of August and Augusta (Carrow) Spiegelberg, 



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338 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



both of whom were natives of Prussia, Germany. August Spiegelberg emi- 
grated to the United States in May, 1868, and Augusta Carrow crossed the 
Atlantic in July following. They settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, and were 
here married on the 17th of November, 1869. Mr. Spiegelberg, an agriculturist- 
by occupation, bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres three years 
after his arrival in this country, being busily engaged in its operation until 
March, 1900. At that time he put aside the active work of the fields and took 
up his abode in Kekoskee, Wisconsin, where he passed away on the 10th of 
May, 1900. His wife is still living. They had six children, four of whom sur- 
vive, namely : George, who is a resident of Brownsville, Wisconsin ; Mrs. Lina 
Helling; Emil, who makes his home in Montana; and Darwin, living in Browns- 
ville, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Helling have two children, as follows: Arno, 
whose birth occurred on the 2d of July, 1896; and Alfons, who was born on the 
10th of June, 1904. 

Mr. Helling gives a general allegiance to the democratic party but often 
casts his ballot independently in support of the men and measures he deems 
best fitted to conserve the general welfare. His religious faith is indicated by 
his membership in the Lutheran church at Mayville. He is respected in the 
community where his entire life has been spent, being known as a man of up- 
right principles and industrious habits who conducts all of his transactions in 
an honorable manner. 



JOHN MUTH. 

John Muth is living retired in his pleasant home at No. 608 Division street, 
Watertown. For fifty-six years he was engaged in the cigar-making trade 
in this city, spending thirty-three years of this time as foreman of the shop 
operated by a Mr. Wiggenhorn. He had special training and natural ability 
and soon became known as an expert workman as well as an honorable and 
straightforward business man. He was born in Nassau, Germany, October 16, 
1838, a son of Philip and Caroline (Heck) Muth, natives of the fatherland, 
who came to America in 1840, settling in New Orleans, Louisiana. Subse- 
quently the subject of this review and his mother returned to Germany on 
account of the latter's failing health, but in 1848 they again came to America 
and joined the father, who had remained in New Orleans working as a tailor. 
In 1849 Philip Muth, having met with indifferent success in the south, came to 
the northern states with the intention of finding a suitable place to establish 
himself. Returning in order to join his family, he died on a boat on Lake 
Michigan and was buried when the vessel reached Milwaukee, in 1852. His 
wife and son came to Watertown and located in that city, where the mother 
died in 1908. 

John Muth is the eldest in a family of five children. He received his edu- 
cation in the public schools of Watertown and when he had completed his 
studies learned the cigar-making trade. In this line he continued until his 
retirement in 1905, being employed for thirty-three years as foreman of a shop 
belonging to Mr. Wiggenhorn. His activities in this line were only once iiiter- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



339 



rupted. On August 12, 1862, he enlisted for the Civil war in Company E, Twen- 
tieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served until July 14, 1865, on which 
date he was mustered out at Galveston, Texas, with the rank of sergeant. 

In April, i860, Mr. Muth was united in marriage to Miss Mary Biesner, 
who was born in New York city, May 15, 1841. Her parents were natives of 
Germany and came to America shortly after their marriage, settling in New 
York, where they remained until 1853. In tn *t year they came to Dodge county, 
Wisconsin, and located in Columbus, whence in 1859 they came to Watertown, 
where both passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Muth are the parents of five children : 
Amelia, who married Gustaf Scherz, of Milwaukee; Matilda, who married D. 
Cannon, of Jancsville, by whom she has one child; Mary, the wife of Wil- 
liam Tannhauser, of Madison, Wisconsin, by whom she has two children, 
Ruth and Gertrude; Ida, who married O. W. Kipp, of Milwaukee, by whom 
she has one child; and John, who resides at home with his parents. 

Mr. Muth is a member of the Cigar Makers' Benevolent Association, and 
prominent in the affairs of O. D. Pease Post, No. 94, G. A. R., Department of 
Wisconsin. He is a democrat in his political beliefs and actively and intelli- 
gently interested in public affairs. He served for two terms as alderman and 
for one term as bond commissioner from the second ward and also held the 
position of alderman for two terms from the sixth ward of Watertown. In 
the sixth ward he also served as supervisor, bringing to the discharge of his 
official duties the same intelligent activity, conscientiousness and industry which 
made his business career successful. He has many friends in Watertown who 
respect him for his high qualities of mind and character and esteem him as 
a representative and worthy business man as well as an honored veteran of 
the Civil war. 



WILLIAM E. SPIERING. 

William E. Spiering is the well known owner and publisher of the Waupun 
Democrat and is numbered among the influential and well respected citizens of 
Dodge county. He was born in Mayville, Wisconsin, March 15, 1877, and is a 
son of Henry and Augusta (Springer) Spiering, both of whom were natives of 
Germany. The former, when a child, emigrated with his parents to America in 
1841 and settled in Milwaukee. The latter came with her parents to America 
in 1849 and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin. Carl Spiering, the paternal 
grandfather, removed from Milwaukee to Mayville, where he settled in 1843 
and was the first man to build a brick house in Dodge county. The land upon 
which he established his home was an unredeemed wilderness, which by hard 
toil gradually became transformed into fertile lands, on which for many years 
Carl Spiering was successfully engaged in farming. Henry Spiering, the father, 
was a boy four years old when he came with his parents to the United States. 
He received his earlv education at home and after passing the required examina- 
tion before the court was later admitted to the Wisconsin bar. He was the 
founder of the Dodge County Pioneer in 1875. which was the first German paper 
published at that time west of Milwaukee. He later sold the Pioneer and some 



340 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



time after established the Mayville News in 1892, which he sold in 1907. Both 
of these papers are still published and are among the influential weekly publi- 
cations of Dodge county. Mr. Spiering was for three terms a member of the 
state legislature and he was honored by being elected to almost every city office 
in Mayville. To Mr. Spiering and his wife thirteen children were born, ten of 
whom are living. The mother of the family still lives at Mayville, Wisconsin. 

William E. Spiering was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools in Mayville. He then became a pupil in Wartburg Seminary 
at Dubuque, Iowa, and was later a student at Waverly, Iowa. After completing 
his education he engaged with his father in the newspaper business. He then 
established the Lomira Review at Lomira, Wisconsin, in 1901, and sold out in 
1902, after which time he traveled in various parts of the country until 1908, 
when he came to Waupun, buying an interest in the Waupun Democrat in 1910 
and later, in 1912, he purchased the remaining interest held by other parties, 
since which time he has been sole owner and publisher of the Waupun Democrat. 
That journal was established in 1900 by William A. Wells and its first number 
appeared on March 9, of that year. Mr. Wells sold the paper to Powell & Sand- 
born in October, 1901, and by them it was published until 1908, at which time 
Mr. Sandborn retired from the business and Mr. Powell continued the publica- 
tion until December, 1910. In that year Professor Hubble and William E. 
Spiering bought the paper and continued its publication in copartnership until 
191 1, when Mr. Hubble retired and in 1912 sold his interest in the paper to 
William E. Spiering, who has since successfully continued its publication as a 
weekly. 

Mr. Spiering was united in marriage on November 27, 1903, to Agnes Bou- 
cher, of Menominee, Michigan, and they have a family of two children : Mel- 
bourne, who died in infancy; and Ottilia, at home. Mr. Spiering is independent 
in politics and is fraternally connected with Lodge No. 48, F. & A. M., at Wau- 
pun, Wisconsin. He and his family are members of the Congregational church. 
Mr. Spiering, as owner and editor of the Waupun Democrat, is one of the in- 
fluential citizens of the county in which he resides and is a man whose well 
known reputation for integrity in business and uprightness of character places 
him among the citizens who by consistent living is numbered among the useful 
members of the community in which he lives. 



The business interests of Mayville are ably represented in the person of 
Byron Barwig, whose family has for nearly half a century been prominently 
identified with the industrial and political development of the town. His fellow 
townsmen have repeatedly honored him by calling him to the highest office in 
the municipality, the duties of which he has discharged with the same efficiency 
and distinction as his father, who was the second mayor of the town. He is 
a native of the state, his birth having occurred in the city of Milwaukee, on the 
29th of July, 1862, and is a son of the late Charles Barwig, Sr. The father 
was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, his natal day being the 19th of March. 1837. 



BYRON BARWIG. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



341 



and there he passed the first eight years of his life. Together with his parents, 
Mr. and Mrs. John Barwig, he emigrated to the United States in 1845, coming 
direct to Wisconsin. The family located in Milwaukee, which at that time was 
only a small village, and there Charles Barwig was reared to manhood and 
educated. After leaving the public school he entered the Spencerian Business 
College, being graduated from that institution in 1857. On January 8, of the 
same year, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Schwartzburg, mother of our sub- 
ject. The first eight years of their domestic life they passed in Milwaukee, but 
at the expiration of that time they came to Mayville, locating here in 1865. 
Here Mr. Barwig established a distillery and wholesale liquor house, which he 
profitably conducted until 1888, when he sold out to his sons, Charles A. and 
Byron, who continued the business under the firm name of Barwig Brothers, his 
energies during the remainder of his active life being devoted to the real-estate 
business. He was not only a business man of more than average discernment 
and sagacity but by reason of his foresight and sound judgment served the 
community most efficiently in various official capacities. During the pioneer 
days he was chairman of the municipal board and president of the village, and 
subsequently had the distinction of being the second mayor of the town, serv- 
ing for two terms in this capacity. He was also president of the school board 
for many years and was at one time a member of the board of county super- 
visors. He achieved more than a local reputation both as a public official and 
business man, and in the late '80s was elected to represent the second district 
of Wisconsin in the United States congress, being retained in office for three 
consecutive terms. Fraternally he had attained high rank in the Masonic order, 
being a member of Mayville Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M. ; Horicon Chapter, No. 
24, R. A. M. ; Fond du Lac Commandery, No. 5, K. T. ; and the Consistory of 
Milwaukee. To Mr. and Mrs. Barwig there were born five children, our sub- 
ject being the third in order of birth. The other members of the family are as 
follows: Emilie, the widow of Fred Schwartz; Charles A., who is a resident of 
Wausau; and George and Robert, of Chicago. The mother passed away on 
October 9, 1909, and the father on the 16th of February, 1912. He had attained 
the age of seventy- four years, ten months and twenty-seven days, and as he 
possessed an exceptionally fine constitution had until a short time prior to his 
demise been in good health and escaped all of the infirmities of old age. Two 
successive strokes of paralysis, however, terminated a long and useful career, 
removing from the business circles of Mayville one of its most estimable and 
highly respected citizens, to whose enterprise and public spirit it is largely in- 
debted for its progress and development. 

Reared in a home of comfortable circumstances the boyhood and youth of 
Byron Barwig was noticeably free from the hardships and privations which 
fell to the lot of many of the sons of Dodge county's pioneers. He was edu- 
cated in the local schools, and upon his graduation from the high school ter- 
minated his student days and began his business career. From that time until 
1888 he was associated with his father, but in the latter year together with his 
brother, Charles A., he purchased the business, which they conducted in part- 
nership until 1902. Byron Barwig then bought his brother's interest, and has 
since continued the business alone, retaining the old firm name of Barwig Broth- 
ers, however. He has been very successful in the development of his inter- 




342 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ests and is identified with various local enterprises and in ic 
vice president of the Stale Bank of Mayville, the duties of wl 
discharged from 1908 to 1910. 

In Chicago, Illinois, on the 30th of November, 1892, Mr. Bat 
in marriage to Miss Mary Rahlfs, a daughter of George and 
Rahlfs. The father is now deceased but the mother is still livini 
Mrs. Barwig have been born two daughters and a son, in the f 
Adele Elisabeth, Elsa Marie and Byron Ralph. 

Mr. Barwig is a prominent member of the Masonic order, 
with Mayville Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M. ; Horicon Chapter, No 
Fond du Lac Comrnandery, No. 5, K. T.; and the consistory 
His allegiance in matters politic he accords to the democratic p 
early manhood has taken an active and helpful interest in rm 
In 1888, he accompanied his father to Washington in the capacil 
He remained there for two years and during that time obtained ; 
modern political methods which has proven invaluable to. him. 
official career on the 7th of April, 1896, when he took the oath of 1 
serving two years. He was reelected in 1904 and again in 1906, 
years, beginning in 1900. he was a member of the circuit court jur 
was a delegate to the democratic convention held in Denver in i< 
member of the committee appointed to notify W. J. Bryan of his 
the presidency. He has always taken a deep interest in all matti 
port and in 1906 and 1907 was vice president of the Dodge Count; 
tion. The year following he was elected president, retaining t 
191 1. For twenty-one years he was president of the Northweste 
ciation, having been elected to this office in 1889, his long period 1 
ing no doubt as to his general fitness for the office and the effkiei 
he fulfilled his duties. Mr. Barwig is a man with marked powers ( 
practical views and well conceived ideas, which he executes wit! 
and decisiveness characteristic of one of positive aim and d< 
Whatever he undertakes is given intelligent consideration, as he 
thing which is worthy of his efforts merits his highest endeavors. 



Rev. John H. Tietema has been pastor of the Dutch Rcfor 
Randolph for one year and has become widely recognized as a u 
divine. His birth occurred in the Netherlands in 1869, his parent 
and Anna (Leppers) Tietema. The father, who was born in < 
on the 15th of May, 1836. emigrated to the United States in I* 
at Orange City, Iowa, where he worked as a printer. Subsequei 
the ministry, being ordained by the Sioux City Presbytery in 1 
charge was at Greenleafton. Minnesota. His demise occurred t 
April, 1898, at Bemis, South Dakota, where he had resided but 
was on the 7th of June. 1865, that he wedded Miss Anna Leppers, 
on the lSth of January. 1K41. her parents being Garrett and 



REV JOHN H. TIETEMA. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



313 



Leppers, of the Netherlands. She is still living and makes her home at Baldwin, 
Wisconsin. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kasper Tietema were born eight children. 
Garrett, whose birth occurred on the 7th of March, 1866, died in 1872 and 
was buried in the Netherlands. Lubertus, whose natal day was March 8, 1867, 
married Miss Bertha Vanzanten and resides at Slayton, Minnesota. John H., 
of this review, was the next in order of birth. Arie, who was born on the 13th 
of February, 1870, died in 1891 and was buried at Bemis, South Dakota. Wil- 
liam, who was born on the 26th of December, 1871, makes his home at Baldwin, 
Wisconsin. Garrett, whose birth occurred on the 10th of August, 1874, passed 
away in Waukesha. Anna, born October 16, 1876, resides at Baldwin, Wisconsin. 
Albert J., who was born on the 2d of February, 1880, married Miss Elizabeth 
Feenhuis and established his home at Bemis, South Dakota. He met death by 
accident, being drowned while in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

John H. Tietema who, as a youth of thirteen, accompanied his parents on 
their emigration to the United States, was educated at McAllester College, in 
St. Paul, Minnesota, and received his diploma in 1899. In tnat vear ne was 
ordained by the Aberdeen (S. D.) Presbytery and was given a charge at Bemis, 
South Dakota, where he acted as pastor of the Presbyterian church until the 
fall of 1902. Subsequently he spent five years in the town of Alto, Fond du 
Lac county, Wisconsin, and then removed to Sheboygan Falls, this state, where 
he served as pastor of the Dutch Reformed church for four years. In January, 
1912, he came to Randolph, Wisconsin, and became pastor of the Dutch Reformed 
church here, since which time his labors have been a forceful element in the 
moral development of the community. He is a member of the Synod of Chicago 
and the Classis of Wisconsin of the Dutch Reformed church. 

On the 2d of July, 1902, Rev. Tietema was united in marriage to Miss 
Gertrude Flipse, her parents being Dennis and Anna (Kappers) Flipse, natives 
of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. From that point Mr. Flipse removed to Baldwin, 
Wisconsin. Rev. and Mrs. Tietema have two children, namely: Ruth Johanna, 
who was born at Sheboygan Falls, on the 15th of September, 1909; and Casper 
John, whose birth occurred at Randolph, Wisconsin, on the 14th of March, 1912. 



OWEN HARTT. 

Owen Hartt follows diversified farming and stock-raising in Calamus town- 
ship, where he owns two hundred acres of land on section 17. He is a son of 
Edward and Mary (Lonergan) Hartt, and has always resided in Dodge county, 
his birth having here occurred, March 1, 1867. The father was born in Ireland 
in 1837 and there passed the first nineteen years of his life. Feeling that condi- 
tions in America afforded better opportunities for enterprising young men, he 
emigrated to the United States in 1856, and thereafter made this country his 
home. The first year of his residence in the new world was passed in New 
Jersey, but at the expiration of that time he continued his journey westward to 
Wisconsin. He came direct to Beaver Dam and for a time worked as a section 
hand on the railroad. He subsequently turned his attention to agricultural 
pursuits, first locating on a farm in Beaver Dam township. From there he 
removed to a farm in the vicinity of the present site of South Beaver Dam, 



344 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



where he passed the remainder of his life. The mother, who is also a native 
of Ireland, came to the United States in 1864 and was married in Beaver Dam. 
To this worthy couple there were born nine children. Owen, of this review, 
is the eldest. Nellie, who was born in 1869, is the wife of Frank Thurston, a 
resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Agnes, who died at the age of twenty-one 
years, is buried in St. Patrick's cemetery, at Beaver Dam. Jennie, who was 
born in 1873, is the wife of William Welch, a resident of Beaver Dam. Eliza- 
beth, who was born in 1875, became the wife of Louis Zinke, of Beaver Dam. 
Annie, who was born in 1877, ' s a resident of Milwaukee, this state. Edward, 
whose birth occurred in 1879, resides in Fall River, Wisconsin. Laura, who was 
born in 1881, and Margaret, whose natal year was 1886, are living at home with 
the mother. The father passed away in 1889 and was buried in St. Patrick's 
cemetery. He was one of the well known pioneer agriculturists of this section 
of the county and during the long period of his residence had made many friends. 

There was nothing of an unusual nature to distinguish the boyhood and 
youth of Owen Hartt from those of other lads who were born and reared in 
this section of Wisconsin during the formative period of Dodge county. About 
the time he began his education in the district schools he began his preliminary 
training as an agriculturist by assisting with the lighter duties about the home 
farm. Upon laying aside his text-books, he gave his undivided attention to agri- 
cultural pursuits, remaining under the parental roof until qualified to start out 
for himself. He has met with success in his chosen field of activity and now 
holds the title to two hundred acres of land, one hundred and forty of which 
are under cultivation. In connection with the cultivation of his fields he is 
engaged in raising graded stock, thus materially augmenting his annual income. 

In 1893, Mr. Hartt was united in marriage to Miss Mary Sheedy, who was 
born in Ireland in 1867, a daughter of Thomas Sheedy, also a native of the 
Emerald isle. She came alone to this country, coming direct to Beaver Dam, 
where she joined an uncle, with whom she made her home until her marriage. 
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Hartt numbers four children, as follows : Agnes, 
who was born in 1894; Edward, whose natal year was 1896; John, whose birth 
occurred in 1898; and Genevieve, who was born in 1900. The eldest daughter 
met with a most unfortunate accident at the age of three years, which left her 
blind. 

The family attend St. Patrick's Catholic church at Beaver Dam, in which the 
parents hold membership. Mr. Hartt also belongs to the Catholic Order of 
Foresters. A man of commendable business methods and a worthy citizen, he 
enjoys the respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen and neighbors, among 
whom he numbers many friends. 



HOMER BISHOP HUBBELL. 

Homer Bishop Hubbell is descended from Welsh ancestors who settled in New 
England in 1645. Born on a farm in Fairfax, Vermont, June 19, 1857, he is now 
in his fifty-sixth year. He had the usual experiences of a farmer boy and at first 
attended the country schools of his native town. Later he was prepared for 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



college at the New Hampton Institute and at Barre Academy, both well known 
private schools of the Green Mountain state at that time. He was graduated 
from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1878, with the degree of 
A. B., and three years later received the degree of A. M. from the same institu- 
tion. Coming west soon after his graduation he was employed as a teacher and 
school principal in several Illinois towns and cities, a work which he had pre- 
viously begun in Vermont by teaching a large country school and "boarding 
around" when only sixteen years old. 

Duri ng his residence in Illinois Mr. Hubbell served four years as deputy 
clerk of the circuit court and recorder of deeds at Princeton in Bureau county, 
and also studied law and was admitted to the bar. He holds the degree of LL. B. 
from the Union College of Law, Chicago. By teaching and other work he was 
enabled to repay in full the balance of money he had been compelled to borrow 
to complete his education. 

In 1889 Mr. Hubbell was called to Wisconsin as principal of the Beaver 
Dam high school, a position that he retained for eighteen years, also serving 
as city superintendent during the latter part of this period. During his admin- 
istration many improvements were introduced into the city school system and he 
was recognized as one of the most progressive and successful educators of 
the state. In 1900 he was the democratic nominee for state superintendent and 
ran well ahead of his ticket in his own city and county, but the republican tidal 
wave of that year left no democratic survivors on the shores of Wisconsin. 
Altogether he has had twenty-five years experience in teaching. 

In 1910 Mr. Hubbell was employed by the census bureau under the rules of 
the classified civil service to act as a special agent in taking the census of 
manufacturers for Dodge county and a portion of Milwaukee. He has also at 
different times devoted considerable attention to newspaper work and during 
191 1 was one of the editors and proprietors of the Waupun (Wis.) Democrat. 

June 24, 1893, Mr. Hubbell was united in marriage to Miss Edna C. Flanders, 
the first kindergarten teacher of the Beaver Dam public schools, who proved a 
most faithful and devoted helpmate and whose untimely death September 26, 
1906, was universally lamented. To them were born two daughters — Helen, 
now aged seventeen, a student of Wayland Academy, and Celia, who at the early 
age of nine, followed her mother into the life eternal December 31, 1906. 

Mr. Hubbell is a son of George A. and Jane (Bishop) Hubbell. His father 
died in 1902 at the old family residence in Fairfax, Vermont. His mother, at the 
age of nearly four score years, still survives to brighten the home of her Wis- 
consin son. Another son, Charles G. Hubbell, resides at Brattleboro, Vermont 

Being New England pioneers, many of Mr. Hubbell's ancestors were promi- 
nent in the Revolution and the War of 1812. One of them, Stephen Fay. kept 
the famous "Catamount Tavern" at Bennington, Vermont, in which the council of 
safety met and disciplined the "Yorkers" with the "beech seal." His son, Dr. 
Jonas Fay, acted as surgeon for Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys 
at the capture of Ticonderoga, and was the author of the Vermont declaration 
of independence. 

Homer E. Hubbell, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, 
whose mother was a daughter of the above named Dr. Jonas Fay, practiced law 
for more than sixty years in the courts of Vermont. He was for eleven years 



348 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



a member of the legislature and constitutional convention, and held many other 
important and responsible offices of his town, county and state. 

Mr. Hubbell has therefore inherited traditions and associations in which he 
takes pride. We may add that he has traveled extensively, is a lover of ait 
and literature, and is interested in every form of social and educational progress. 
He has been for seventeen years a director of the Williams Free Library and 
during the last five years has served as its president. 

He has also given much attention to lecture courses, historical societies and 
literary clubs. He enjoys fraternal orders and is & member of all Mason*: 
organizations up to and including the thirty-second degree. In these varioas 
bodies he has held many of the highest official positions. He is a past grand 
high priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Wisconsin. 

In politics Mr. Hubbell is classified as an independent democrat. In religion 
he is a loyal communicant of the Episcopal church. His friends affirm, however, 
that he is tolerant in his opinions and liberal in his views on all subjects. 



Charles Hawks, vice president of the Horicon State Bank, and promtneK 
in local business and fraternal circles, was born in Juneau, December 14, 187}- 
and is a son of Eli and Caroline E. ( Potter) Hawks, the former of whom was 
born in Madison, county, New York, in 1829 and the latter in Schuyler county in 
1837. The father came to Dodge county in 1855 and settled in Juneau, where 
at first he engaged in the grain business. Later, however, he was appointed 
postmaster and held that office at the time of his death, April 10, 1000. His 
widow resides at times with the subject of this sketch and spends the remainder 
of her time with her daughter in La Crosse. They were the parents of three 
children: Flora E., who married Dr. George W. Lueck, of La Crosse; Horace, 
who passed away at the age of ten months; and Charles, of this review. The 
father was welt known in local and state politics and held various important 
offices, including that of state representative from this district, serving in the 
general assembly from 1878 to 1882. 

Charles Hawks was educated in the public schools of Juneau and is a grad- 
uate of the Juneau high school. At the age of sixteen he obtained a position in 
an abstract office in Juneau and continued in this capacity for three years, after 
which he was appointed bookkeeper in the Citizens Bank of Juneau and did 
able work in this position from December, 1894, to September, 1896, on whsh 
date he came to Horicon. Here lie assisted in the organization of the Horicoo 
State Bank and served as assistant cashier in that institution until September, 
1897. when he became cashier. In 1912 he was promoted to the office of vice 
president and is still serving, discharging his duties ably and judiciously He 
is prominent in various other important enterprises, being treasurer of the 
Horicon Telephone Company and also secretary and treasurer of the Oak Hill 
Cemetery Association. He was among the organizers of this body and has given 
much time and attention to its affairs. 



CHARLES HAWKS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



349 



On June 22, 1898, Mr. Hawks was united in marriage to Miss Linda Yankey, 
who was born in Lowell, August 19, 1874, a daughter of Gottlieb and Anna 
(Marugg) Yankey, the former a native of Poland and the latter of Switzerland. 
The father came to America when he was a young man and settled first in 
Watertown, where he followed the trade of cabinet-making. Later he removed 
to Lowell and there engaged in the furniture business, in which he continued 
until about 1880, when he moved to Juneau and there established a furniture 
business which he operated in conjunction with an undertaking parlor. He was 
successful and prosperous in a business way and conducted his enterprise along 
the most modern and progressive lines until 191 1, when he disposed of his hold- 
ings and retired, moving to Horicon, where he is still residing. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hawks became the parents of four children: Charles, Jr., born July 7, 1899; 
Ralph Eli, born December 17, 1900; Doris, born September 15, 1902; and Helen, 
who was born March 15, 1909, and died March 20, 191 1. The family belong to 
the Presbyterian church. 

Mr. Hawks gives his allegiance to the republican party and is well known 
and prominent in political affairs. For four years he did able and conscientious 
work as a member of the board of aldermen and was for two terms city treasurer. 
In April, 1912, he was elected mayor of Horicon and is still serving, bringing 
to the more public aspects of his life the same business ability, judicious dis- 
crimination and practical and progressive ideas which have made his banking 
career successful. In fraternal circles, too, he is well known and prominent, 
being a member of Horicon Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., and Horicon Chapter, 
No. 24, R. A. M. He belongs to the council and commandery in Beaver Dam 
and is a member of the Wisconsin Consistory. He is one of the most prominent 
Masons in Horicon and has passed through all of the chairs of the organiza- 
tion, being at the present time treasurer of his lodge. He is also active in the 
affairs of the Odd Fellows, belonging to Horicon Lodge, No. 87, and is like- 
wise a member of the Modern Woodmen of America camp. 



ROBERT T. ROBERTS. 

Robert T. Roberts is engaged in the real-estate, loan and insurance business 
in Randolph. His entire time has been passed in Dodge county and that his 
record is a worthy one is indicated by the fact that many of his stanchest friends 
have known him from his boyhood to the present time. He was born in West- 
ford, Wisconsin, April 13, 1879. His father, Edward Roberts, a native of 
Wales, came to this country when a young man and settled near the town in 
Wisconsin which was named in honor of his native country. He afterward 
removed from Wales to Columbus, Wisconsin, where he worked for his brother, 
Hugh Roberts, until his earnings were sufficient to enable him to purchase the 
farm in Westford township upon which he now resides. He married Ann 
Roberts, in 1877, and they have continuously lived at the place which is still their 
home. Their seven children were there born, namely : Robert T. ; Katherine, 
who died in infancy and was buried in Bethel cemetery in the town of Elba, 
Wisconsin; William E., born in August, 1883; Mary Jane; Thomas E.,.\vho is 



350 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



employed by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company ; Annie, the wife 
of William H. Jones, of Chicago, who is employed in one of the south side 
branches of the Chicago postoffice ; and Edward H., who is attending the high 
school at Randolph. 

Robert T. Roberts completed his education by study in the high school of 
Randolph and, making his home in that place, he is now conducting a real- 
estate, loan and insurance agency. He has negotiated many important realty 
transfers, has placed many loans and writes a large amount of insurance each 
year for he concentrates his energies upon his business with a singleness of 
purpose combined with industry and perseverance that cannot fail to win success. 

On the 14th of July, 1909, Mr. Roberts was married to Miss Katherine M. 
Jones, a daughter of Hugh W. Jones. She was born in 1879 and for several 
years taught school in the rural districts, while for six years she was a teacher 
in the schools of Randolph. Mr. Roberts belongs to the Masonic fraternity, 
also to the Gideons and the Equitable Fraternal Union, while his religious faith 
is that of the Welsh Calvanistic Methodist church. He has always lived in this 
community and his close conformity to high standards of life has gained him 
the warm and enduring regard of those with whom he has been associated. 



Eugene A. Clifford, the present incumbent of the office of city attorney, 
both in his private practice and in the discharge of his public duties is mani- 
festing those qualities which give promising assurance of a successful career 
Descended from one of Dodge county's pioneer families his birth occurred ir 
Clyman on the 5th of December. 1886. He is of Irish extraction, the paternal 
grandfather, John Clifford, having been born on the Emerald isle. Coming 
to Dodge county in the early pioneer days he located on a farm in Emmett town- 
ship, where he passed the remainder of his life. There on the 20th of Sep- 
tember, 1844, his son Dominic, the father of our subject, was bom. He, too, 
followed an agricultural career until 1885, when he withdrew from the work of 
the fields and came to Juneau, where he is now living retired. On the 25th of 
January, 1873, he was married to Miss Ellen Kelley, also a native of Dodge 
county, her birth having occurred on the 8th of November, 1850. Of this mar- 
riage there were born five children : Michael and Dominic Francis, editors of 
one of the leading newspapers of Dodge county, "The Independent;" John, who 
is mentioned at greater length elsewhere in this work ; Eugene A., our sub- 
ject ; and Julia, the only daughter, who is living at home, as also are all of the 
sons with the exception of the third. Mr. Clifford is public-spirited and takes 
an active interest in local politics, giving his support to the progressive faction 
of the democratic party. While living at Emmett he held the office of treas- 
urer of the school district and chairman of the township and served in vari- 
ous other capacities. Dominic Clifford is a Roman Catholic in religious faith 

Eugene A Clifford was still in his infancy when his parents removed to 
Juneau, where he was reared and acquired his preliminary education Having 
resolved to adopt the legal profession for his vocation, he subsequently matrini- 



EUGENE A. CLIFFORD. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



351 



lated in the law department of the University of Wisconsin, where he pursued 
his professional studies. He made a splendid record as a student, applying him- 
self zealously to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence, for which he 
manifested an unusual aptitude. He was awarded his degree at the age of 
twenty-two years, and immediately returned to Juneau and established an office. 
During the intervening four years he has fulfilled his early promise and is 
making a very creditable record. He is happily endowed with a retentive mem- 
ory, keen mentality and rapid powers of reasoning and has at his ready com- 
mand a vocabulary which enables him to express himself fluently and to the 
point. His cases are prepared with care and deliberation, every point being 
carefully considered and arranged in well ordered sequence. His caution in this 
respect together with his fine penetration, clearness of his expositions and readi- 
ness of his answers has won him well merited recognition in local circles as an 
able representative of his profession. He is now and has for some time past 
been serving as deputy city clerk, while for two years he has been filling the 
office of city attorney. 

Being unmarried Mr. Clifford makes his home with his father. He is a com- 
municant of the Roman Catholic church, and in politics he is a progressive 
democrat. He was elected secretary of the Democratic county committee in 
191 2, which position he now holds. He possesses the force and determination 
of character which inspire confidence and is rapidly building up a lucrative 
practice, numbering among his clients some of the town's leading citizens and 
business men. Representing the third generation of his family, he is widely 
known in this section and has many friends who are interested in the develop- 
ment of his career and prophesy for him a promising future. 



JOHN McADAMS. 

One of the early settlers in Wisconsin who has been connected with a great 
deal of the agricultural development of the state is John McAdams, who came 
to Jefferson county in 1849. He was at that time a child of two years and he 
remained in that section until he came to Dodge county in 1889, where he has 
since resided. From his youth he has worked upon a farm and has been con- 
nected with agricultural pursuits under pioneer conditions, clearing timber, grub- 
bing stumps and breaking wild land. At the present time he owns and culti- 
vates one hundred and twenty-five acres on section 23, Shields township, and 
is recognized as one of the leading and representative farmers of the district. 
He was born in Niagara county, New York, June 2, 1847. His father, Ter- 
rance McAdams, came from his native country, Ireland, to America when he 
was a young man and located in Niagara county, where he engaged in farm- 
ing. In 1849 ne moved west to Wisconsin and located in Jefferson, where he 
worked at anything which would bring him an income. By strict economy he 
saved enough money to buy a town lot, upon which he erected the first house 
and there resided for nine years. At the end of that time he traded his prop- 
erty in Jefferson for eighty acres of land in the county, which he cleared, im- 
proved and cultivated for a number of years. Here he raised his family of 



352 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ten children and died upon his farm in 1879. He married Miss Sarah Mc- 
Carty, also a native of Ireland, who came to America when she was a child of 
thirteen and was reared and educated in New York state. She survived her 
husband for a number of years and died in August, 1908. 

John McAdams grew up on the homestead in Jefferson county and when 
he was still a child assisted in the work of clearing timber and grubbing stumps. 
He remained with his father until he was twenty-three years of age and had 
the advantages of a common-school education. After his marriage, which oc- 
curred in 1876, he farmed in Jefferson county for a few years and then moved 
to Dodge county upon his present farm. He located upon this property in 1889 
and immediately began the work of further development. He has a fine mod- 
ern residence, good barns and a new silo and has made other substantial changes 
and improvements. He gives his attention to general farming and dairying 
and is especially interested in the breeding and raising of a fine grade of Hol- 
stein cattle. For a number of years he owned a threshing machine operated by 
horse power and threshed in Jefferson county during the period of his resi- 
dence there. He continued in this business when he came to Dodge county 
but substituted a steam-power engine for his former one. He did business in 
both Jefferson and Dodge counties until 19 10. when he abandoned this branch 
of his activities in order to devote his entire time to farming, dairying and 
stock-raising. In the course of years Mr. McAdams' ability and force of char- 
acter have drawn him into important business relations in this section of the 
state and he has promoted various enterprises of importance, among which 
may be mentioned the Posey Creamery, which is now a cheese factory. 

Mr. McAdams married in Jefferson county, February 29, 1876, Miss Mar)' 
Ann Donohue, a daughter of Patrick Donohue, a pioneer in the settlement of 
Dodge county. Mrs. McAdams died upon her husband's farm, March 21. 1898, 
leaving two children : Mary Ellen, the wife of William De Witt, of South Da- 
kota; and John K., of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work 

Mr. McAdams of this review has lived in Wisconsin since his childhood and 
in Dodge county he is known as one of the prominent factors in early agri- 
cultural development and in later upbuilding. His life has not been in any way 
conspicuous but his steady and quiet industry has accomplished a distinct pros- 
perity which places him among the leading and representative men of his sec- 



One of the most prominent men in public life in Shields township as well 
as one of the most active and successful farmers and progressive business men is 
John K. McAdams, who is identified with the rural free delivery service and 
prominently and favorably known in democratic politics in Dodge county. He 
was bom in Jefferson county, January i, 1881, and is a son of John and Mary 
Ann (Donohue) McAdams, of whom further mention is made elsewhere m this 
volume. 



tion. 



JOHN K McADAMS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



353 



When he was eight years of age John K. McAdams came with his parents to 
Dodge county. He received his primary education in the public schools of Shields 
township and supplemented this by a two years' course at the Sacred Heart Col- 
lege in Watertown. When he returned home he aided his father in the opera- 
tion of the farm and became well known as one of the progressive and active 
agriculturists in this part of Dodge county. He is the owner of an improved tract 
of land of one hundred and sixty acres in Perkins county, South Dakota. At the 
present time he is giving a great deal of his attention to the operation of a steam 
threshing outfit which he has owned for ten or twelve years, and during the season 
he does a great deal of threshing for the farmers in Dodge county. For several 
years past he has been connected with the rural free delivery service and has 
proven most capable and satisfactory in the discharge of his duties. Mr. 
McAdams uses an automobile in which to carry the mail when the roads are in 
condition and this greatly facilitates his labors by saving time and energy. 

Mr. McAdams' political activities form one of the vital interests of his life. 
Since casting his first vote he has been affiliated with the democratic party, as is 
also his father, and has steadily upheld throughout his official career the principles 
and policies for which that party stands. Mr. McAdams' ability and effective 
work is demonstrated by the fact that in the various offices in which he has 
served he has been retained for long periods of time. For over ten years he was 
a member of the town board and served for eight consecutive years as town clerk. 
He has been a delegate to both state and county democratic conventions and has 
done able work in the cause of school expansion during the term of his service as 
treasurer of the school board. In all the various activities of his life he has 
demonstrated excellent business ability, careful and conservative business instinct 
and sterling qualities of mind and character. In his public capacities as in his 
private relations he has gained the confidence and esteem of the entire community 
and although he is still a young man, has made definite advancement on the road 
to prosperity. 



HERMAN ZASTROW. 

Diversified farming and dairying engage the attention of Herman Zastrow, 
who resides on section 25, West ford township, where he owns one hundred and 
thirty-four acres of land. A native of Dodge county, he was born in Herman 
township, on the 24th of May, i860, his parents being Charles F. and Fredericka 
(Zuelsdorf) Zastrow. The father was born and reared in Germany, his natal 
year being 1833. About 1853 or 1854, he emigrated to the United States, locat- 
ing in Herman township, where he passed away on the 3d of August, 1891. 
Mr. and Mrs. Zastrow were married in Herman, in 1859, and there were born 
their four children in the following order: Herman, our subject; Ottillie, who 
was born in 1863 ancl died January 18, 191 1, being laid to rest in Oakwood 
cemetery at Beaver Dam; Frank, who was born in 1866, and is a resident of 
Beaver Dam ; and Albert, who married Margaret Scherger and is living in 
Herman township. The mother, who was born in 1837, made her home in 
Herman until after the death of her daughter, when she removed to Beaver 
Dam, and is now living with her son Frank. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



The entire life of Herman Zastrow has been passed in Dodge county. His 
energies were early directed along agricultural lines, his efforts being rewarded 
with success. After his marriage he engaged in farming for himself in Herman 
township, where he remained for two years. In 1891, he located on his present 
place, in the cultivation of which he has since been engaged. One hundred and 
twenty of his hundred and thirty-four acres are being tilled and annually pro- 
duce harvests, the quality and quantity of which well repay him for his persistent 
labor. In connection with his general farming he does considerable dairying 
and raises graded stock. 

Mr. Zastrow was married in 1886 to Miss Ottillic Haferaeister, a daughter 
of Charles Hafemeister of Beaver Dam, and to them have been born four chil- 
dren: Eleanor Julia, whose birth occurred on the 5th of July, 1889; Arthur, 
who was born April 14, 1893; Hilda, whose natal day was March 18, 1895; 
and Edwin, who was born December 30, 1897. They are all living at home, the 
sons assisting their father with the work of the farm. 

In religious faith the family are Lutherans, holding membership in the First 
German church in Beaver Dam. Mr. Zastrow is one of the diligent and enter- 
prising citizens of his community, where his prosperity is rightly attributed to 
honest effort and unfaltering purpose, which qualities have characterized his 
undertakings from early youth. 



Jacob Burger is one of the extensive landowners of Dodge county, having 
five hundred and twenty-three acres divided into different farms, and his record 
shows what may be accomplished by hard work, unfaltering industry and un- 
flagging perseverance. He had but limited educational opportunities and that 
he possesses good business ability is evidenced in his success. He was born in 
Rauxheim, near Kreuznach, in the Rhine province of Germany, August 16, 1840. 
His father, John Burger, also a native of that country, came to America in 1847 
and followed farming in the new world. He made his home in Clyman township 
and passed away at the venerable age of eighty-two years. He married Christina 
Weber, who was also a native of Germany but who became a resident of the 
United States and here died in 1857. 

Jacob Burger was a lad of about seven years when he came with his family to 
Wisconsin and through his youthful days he worked with his father until he 
reached the age of eighteen, when he and his brother purchased an interest in 
a threshing machine and continued in that business for six or seven seasons. 
When twenty-one years of age Jacob Burger and his brother each received from 
their father fifty acres of land and the subject of this review, on attaining his 
majority, began farming on his own account, but still lived at home, remaining 
there to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated in 1865, when Miss 
Maria Irving became his wife. She was born in Albany, New York, March 27, 
1842, a daughter of Thomas Irving, who was born in Ireland and died in Clyman 
township at the age of sixty-two years. Her mother, who bore the maiden 
name of Mary Casey, was born in Ireland and also passed away in Clyman town- 
ship, at the age of sixty-two. 



JACOB BURGER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



855 



Following his marriage Mr. Burger built a house and barn upon the fifty- 
acre tract which he had received from his father and also added other improve- 
ments. He cleared and developed the land, on which he carried on general farm- 
ing and dairying. At different times he has bought other tracts and, while he 
has disposed of some of his purchases, his holdings are still extensive. His first 
purchase after he began farming for himself was a twenty-acre tract which he 
sold later and bought forty acres and afterward one hundred and sixty acres. 
He sold the fifty acres which he had received from his father to his brother. 
He then bought another forty acres, all situated in one district, and subse- 
quently he invested in the twenty-nine and a quarter acres tract upon which 
he now resides. Here he built a modern residence in an attractive style of arch- 
itecture and an excellent barn, since which time, or for a period of five years, 
he has lived upon this place. About fifteen years ago he bought one hundred 
and thirty-six and a half acres, which he still owns, and forty acres in the town 
of Lowell that is still in his possession. About four years ago he purchased 
seventy-seven and a half acres from Joseph Metzger and this and his other farms 
are all now rented. He devotes all of his time to looking after his properties 
and he has always engaged in the raising of sheep, having at present a herd of 
three hundred. His holdings aggregate five hundred and twenty-three acres and 
the soil is rich and productive, much of the land being under cultivation, while 
the remainder is used for pasturage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burger are the parents of six children: Sarah, the wife of 
Joseph Holstein; Mary, the wife of John Scheberle; Ella, at home; Catherine, 
the wife of Henry Scheiber, of Emmet township ; Christina, the wife of Michael 
Thoma; and Cora, who is the wife of James Acker, of Lake Mills. Mr. and 
Mrs. Burger are pleasantly situated in a comfortable home and their earnest toil 
in former years enables them to enjoy many of the comforts of life. He has 
ever worked persistently and energetically to develop and improve his farms and 
his capable business management and industry are manifest in his present 
prosperity. 



FRANZ BRUNKE. 

For thirty-eight years Franz Brunke has been following the cigar-maker's 
trade in Mayville and during the time has built up a flourishing business along 
this line, his enterprise expanding with his growing reputation. The concern of 
which he is the head is one of the largest of its kind in the city and is ably con- 
ducted along practical and modern business lines. Mr. Brunke has been work- 
ing at his trade since he was seventeen years of age and has based his present 
success upon specialized knowledge and training. He has been in America since 
he was fourteen years of age being born in Brandenburg, Germany, May 16, 
1853. His father, Frederick Brunke, was also a native of that province and re- 
mained in Brandenburg until 1867 when he came to America and settled in 
Hustisford, Wisconsin, where he worked at the shoemaking trade which he had 
learned in his youth. His residence in Mayville dated from 1897 and in this 
village he died in 1905, when he was ninety years of age. He married Miss 



35fi 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Louise Lchmann, a native of Germany, born in 1816. She died in 1900, when 
she was eighty-four years of age. In their family were two children, of whom 
the subject of this review is the younger. His brother August, was born in Ger- 
many and came to America with his parents in 1867. When he had completed 
his education he taught school in Beaver Dam for some time and then became 
identified with the real-estate business. In company with our subject he platted 
all the west portion of Mayvillc and became prominent in local business circles. 
He died in this city in 1899. 

Franz Brunke began his education in the German public schools and com- 
pleted it in a night school in Milwaukee. For some time after his arrival in 
America he worked upon a farm but abandoned that occupation when he was 
seventeen years of age in order to learn the cigar-maker's trade. He studied the 
details of this trade in Milwaukee where he remained for four years, coming to 
Mayvillc in 1874. Here he established himself independently in the cigar-making 
business and has followed it since that time. His enterprise was conducted at 
first upon a small scale but has gradually expanded until it gives employment at 
the present time to seven cigar makers and two strippers. Some of his output 
is shipped to Minnesota and sold in that state and in the surrounding country. 

In June, 1878, Mr. Brunke was united in marriage to Miss Helen Tillmann, 
a native of Mayvillc and a daughter of Adam and Louise Tillmann. Her father 
was a wagon maker by trade and followed this occupation for some time, aban- 
doning it eventually in favor of farming, in which line of activity he was en- 
gaged at the time of his death which occurred in 1909. His wife is still living. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Brunke have been born five children : Edwin, who is in partner- 
ship with his father, and who is married and has two children ; Walter, who is 
also in business with his father ; Bruno, who is a graduate in pharmacy and who 
is studying medicine in Marquette University ; Herbert, who is engaged in the 
jewelry business at Red Granite, Waushara county; and Leonie, who lives at 
home. 

Politically Mr. Brunke gives his allegiance to the democratic party and for 
seventeen terms was supervisor of the county. He is prominent in the Masonic 
order, holding membership in Vesper Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M., of Mayvillc. 
He is one of the representative citizens of the village in which he has resided for 
thirty-eight years and has many friends in this part of Dodge county. He seeks 
his success in a business way and has been rewarded by seeing his enterprise 
expand and develop year by year. Training and long experience have combined 
to make him an expert workman and, guided and controlled by business ability, 
have been factors in a gratifying and well deserved prosperity. 



Varied commercial and industrial interests have claimed the attention of 
Ferdinand Albert, sole proprietor of the Mayvillc Fuel Company and president 
of the local canning company, both thriving enterprises. He was born in Hori- 
con, Dodge county, on the 8th of October, 1864, and is a son of Charles and 
Angusta (Fritz) Albert, both natives of Germany. The father came to America 



FERDINAND ALBERT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



357 



in the early '50s, locating in this county. A farmer by vocation he acquired 
land in the vicinity of Horicon and there continued his agricultural pursuits, 
until about two years before his death when he retired and removed to Mayville, 
where he thereafter made his home. He passed away in 1903 at the age of 
seventy-one years, but the mother is still living. To this worthy couple were born 
twelve children, our subject being the fourth in order of birth. 

Ferdinand Albert was reared amid the pioneer conditions which yet pre- 
vailed in the rural sections of Dodge county during his toyhood. His educa- 
tion was completed in the high school at Horicon, following which he gave his 
undivided attention to the cultivation of the home farm for a time. He sub- 
sequently withdrew from farming and learned the trade of butter making, 
which he followed for five years and then engaged in the dairy business on his 
own account at New Holstein, Calumet county. He resided there for nine 
years, but at the expiration of that time, in 1899, came to Mayville, although 
for two years thereafter he was interested in the factory at New Holstein. 
Next he organized the F. Albert Dairy Company, of which he was president, 
with plants located at Chilton, Calumet county, Thorp, Clark county, and 
Vesper and Hansen, Wood county, Wisconsin. He disposed of his interest in 
this business in the spring of 191 2, in order to give his entire attention to other 
enterprises with which he was connected. Two years prior to that, in 1910, he 
engaged in the coal and wood business, also handling cement, oil, gasoline and 
kerosene, under the firm name of the Mayville Fuel Company. It was formerly 
a partnership concern but Mr. Albert is now the sole proprietor. He is a man 
of more than average ability in matters of business, possessing the clear judg- 
ment, sagacity and decisiveness of action, which enables him to readily recog- 
nize and utilize to his advantage opportunities not perceptible to men of less 
perspicacity. Anything he undertakes is pursued with that unceasing energy, 
determination of purpose and intelligently organized plans which enables him 
to carry it to a successful issue. 

On March 17, 1891, Mr. Albert was married to Miss Emma Garling, a 
native of Mayville and a daughter of Carl and Sophia (Albert) Garling, who 
were born in Germany. The father, who passed away in 1904, was for many 
years successfully identified with the agricultural interests of this county. The 
mother is still living and now makes her home in Mayville. Mr. and Mrs. Albert 
have had three children, a daughter, Valerie, who is at home, and two who are 
deceased. The family is well known and highly respected in this community, 
Dodge county having been the residence of both the Albert and Garling families 
for more than half a century. 



ALBERT J. CLARK. 

Albert J. Clark, one of the native sons and prominent agriculturists of Dodge 
county, is the owner of about six hundred acres of land in Williamstown town- 
ship and makes a specialty of raising small fruits and vegetables. His birth oc- 
curred in that township, on the 19th of February, 1863, his parents being Amasa 
B. and Louisa (Ivory) Clark. The father, who was born on the 21st of June, 



358 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



1823, passed away on the 23d of February, 1899, while the mother was called to 
her final rest in 1900. It was in 1845 tnat tnc paternal grandfather of our subject 
removed with his family from Jefferson county, New York, to Wisconsin, locat- 
ing first in Burnett township, this county, and later in Williamstown township. 
He had five children who grew to maturity. Amasa B. Clark was married in New 
York and came west to this state when a young man of twenty-two years, locat- 
ing on the farm which is now the home of our subject and continuing to reside 
thereon throughout the remainder of his life. The period of his residence in 
Dodge county covered more than a half century and he long enjoyed an enviable 
reputation as a substantial agriculturist and respected citizen. To him and his 
wife were born three children, as follows: Judson H., who was the father of two 
children and passed away at Parma, Michigan, in 1903 ; Albert J., of this review ; 
and Elvie M., who gave her hand in marriage to Leon Reible, of Mayville. The 
father of this family was a leader in community affairs, taking an active part in 
all movements and measures instituted to promote the general welfare. 

Albert J. Clark was reared on the home farm in Willamstown township and 
attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education. When a youth of 
eighteen he started out as an agriculturist on his own account, cultivating rented 
land for five years. On the expiration of that period he purchased the old home- 
stead of sixty acres which his father had procured from the government. From 
time to time he has augmented his holdings by additional purchase and now owns 
about six hundred acres of land, one hundred and sixty acres of which comprise 
his home place. He has made many substantial improvements on the property, 
erecting a handsome brick residence and barns and also a large fruit and vegetable 
storage house. His time and energies are largely devoted to general farming but 
he makes a specialty of the raising of small fruit and vegetables and does his own 
packing and shipping, having shipped over six thousand crates of strawberries in 
1912. He operates a factory for the manufacture of boxes and likewise has a 
pickle and kraut factory on his place, doing an extensive business in that connec- 
tion. About fifty acres of his land is planted to small fruit and includes an 
orchard. He furnishes steady employment to about twenty-five people through- 
out the year and during the busy season requires the services of about three hun- 
dred hands. He is now equipping one of his farms for the purpose of breeding 
pure Holstein cattle, having already built barns thereon. His operations are ex- 
tensive and important and he is widely recognized as one of the most prosperous 
agriculturists and leading citizens of the community. 

On the 29th of December, 1886, -Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss 
Theresa Bachhubcr, a daughter of Emron and Katharine (Bauer) Bachhuber. 
Her father emigrated to this country from Germany in an early day, locating first 
near St. Lawrence, Wisconsin, and later in Milwaukee, while subsequently he 
came to Dodge county. He was first engaged in business as a brewer but after- 
ward conducted a saddlery shop in Mayville. His demise occurred on the 8th of 
October, 1908, but his wife is still living. They were the parents of ten children, 
as follows : Mrs. Theresa Clark ; John, who is a resident of Mayville ; Anna, the 
wife of Anton Welsch, of Mayville; Barbara, the wife of Tony Jansa, of May- 
ville; Joseph, Frank, Emron and Martin, all of whom are residents of Mayville; 
Katharine, the wife of Paul Rohlinger, of Milwaukee; and Lawrence, living in 
Mayville, Wisconsin, Mr. and Mrs. Clark have three children, namely : Leon G., 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



359 



who is a graduate of the Mayville high school and now assists his father ; Ray J., 
at home ; and Amasa A., who is attending school. Fraternally Mr. Clark is identi- 
fied with the Masons, being a worthy exemplar of the craft. His life has been one 
of intense activity, crowned with deserved success, and his record may well serve 
as a source of inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished when 
ability is coupled with determination. He is widely and favorably known in the 
county where his entire life has been spent and his record therefore cannot fail 
to prove of interest to many of our readers. 



HANS H. FORKMANN. 

Hans H. Forkmann, proprietor and editor of the Dodge County Banner, has 
been a resident of Mayville for twenty-one years, during the greater portion of 
which time he has been identified with the local high school as teacher of Latin 
and German. He is one of the estimable citizens Germany has furnished Dodge 
county, his birth having occurred in Wuerzburg, Bavaria, on the 5th of April, 
1868. His parents were Robert and Helen (Koepplinger) Forkmann, the father 
a native of Burgdorf , Switzerland, and the mother of Kissingen, Bavaria. After 
the completion of his education, which was acquired in the universities of Wuerz- 
burg and Munich, Robert Forkmann became a member of the faculty of the 
former institution with which he was identified during the remainder of his active 
life. He made several journeys to the United States to see his son, his last visit 
being made in 1906, on which occasion he was taken ill and passed away in the 
hospital in Milwaukee on September 13, of the same year. He had long survived 
the mother, whose death occurred on September 13, 1895. They were the parents 
of three children, but the son is the only member of the family to have located in 
America, the two daughters always having resided in their native land. 

The boyhood and youth of Hans H. Forkmann were passed amid the scholarly 
environment of an old university town, the influence of which was further 
enhanced by the fact of his father being a professor, their social circle being 
entirely composed of people of culture and learning. After completing the course 
of the University of Wuerzburg, he was sent to Munich, where he was awarded 
the degree of LL. D. with the class of 1891. Along with his classical studies he 
had imbibed a spirit of democracy, which made him cherish the idea of becoming 
a citizen of the greatest republic on earth. Therefore, soon after leaving the 
university he took passage for the United States. He arrived in New York on 
the 7th of March, 1891, and the day following he made application to become a 
citizen of the United States. Continuing his journey westward, he located in Mil- 
waukee and for some six months thereafter was a member of the Herold staff, 
one of the leading German papers of that city. During that period he made 
application for the position of Latin and German teacher in the Mayville high 
school, to which he was appointed, beginning his duties in September, 1891. He 
served in this capacity with excellent satisfaction for sixteen years, his pupils 
being among the most thoroughly instructed and maintaining a higher average 
standard of scholarship than was attained by almost any other school in the state 
at that time. In 1907, Mr. Forkmann resigned his position and purchased the plant 



360 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of the E. Schwartz Printing Company, publishers of the Dodge County Banner. 
This paper was founded in April 6, 1895, and is one of the leading democrat 
journals in this section. When Mr. Forkmann took possession of the plant in 
1907 the subscription list consisted of but nine hundred names, but it has since 
been increased until it numbers twenty-seven hundred which fact most substan- 
tially evidences his fitness and general qualifications as an editor and man of 
business. 

On the 16th of June, 1893, Mr. Forkmann was united in marriage to Miss 
Ottilie Ruedebusch, a daughter of H. B. and Albertine (Kaetel) Ruedebusch. 
The father, who came to the United States on the 2d of July, i860, was one of 
the pioneer business men of Mayville, where he conducted a hardware establish- 
ment until 1886. In the latter year he disposed of his interests here and removed 
with his family to Milwaukee. Two years later he returned to Mayville and 
resumed his connection with its commercial activities as one of the stockholders 
in a local furniture factory. He was identified with this industry until 1903, when 
he retired from active life and is now spending his latter ye^rs in well earned rest. 
In common with the majority of his countrymen he has always been very fond of 
music and now employs his leisure time in the manufacture of violins and cellos, 
in which he takes great delight. The mother, who was a child of only ten years 
when she came to this country in 1856 with her parents, who located at Theresa, 
passed away on the 29th of December, 1873. Of the four children born to this 
worthy couple but two are now living. 

Mr. Forkmann has enjoyed the full rights of citizenship since the 8th of 
March, 1896, exactly five years and one day after his arrival in America. In his 
political views he is a democrat but he has never been connected with the official 
life of the community, although he is a wide-awake, public-spirited citizen and 
takes an active interest in the welfare of the town and strives to promote its 
interest in every possible way. Fraternally he is identified with Vesper Lodge, 
No. 62, F. & A. M., and various German societies throughout the state. Although 
in his ideas and views he is intensely American and is absolutely loyal to the 
United States and its institutions, Mr. Forkmann yet finds much to commend and 
admire in the land of his nativity and his fellow countrymen. He has never had 
reason to regret transferring his allegiance to this government, however, as he has 
here found the opportunities he sought and has made many stanch friends, who 
accord him the esteem and respect ever commanded by ambitious men of upright 
motives and honorable methods. 



JOHN STEGER. 

John Steger, who as president of the John Steger Company has been en- 
gaged in the brewery business in Mayville for more than thirty years, is one of 
Dodge county's enterprising and capable native sons. His natal day was the 
third of September, a 854, and he is a son of George and Margaret (Krcbclt) 
Steger, both natives of Germany. The father emigrated to the United States 
in 1846 with Dodge county as his destination. He was an agriculturist and soon 
after his arrival located in Theresa township, where he acquired seventy acres 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



361 



of land. The further cultivation and improvement of this place engaged his 
attention until his death, which occurred in the year 1871 or 1872. The mother 
survived him for many years, her death taking place in 1908. Our subject is 
third in order of birth in a family of six children. 

Reared at home, John Steger obtained his education in the district and 
Catholic parochial schools of this county. When old enough to begin fitting 
himself for a career he resolved to become a brewer, and at the age of four- 
teen years laid aside his schoolbooks and began qualifying for his chosen voca- 
tion as an apprentice of John Quast, proprietor of the Theresa Brewery. He- 
was there employed for six or seven years, during which time he became thor- 
oughly familiar with the various details of the industry. At the expiration of 
that time he became identified with the Gebhard " Weber Brewery Company. 
The next year he came to Mayville, where for two years he followed another 
line of work and then went to Ripon and worked for the John Haas Brewery 
Company. In another two years he again took up his residence in Mayville, 
and here in 1881 in partnership with Charles Gerlach he purchased the brewery 
of the Charles Crossing Company, and has been operating this plant until 1888, 
when Mr. Gerlach sold his interest to Henry Boehmer, who has since been con- 
nected with Mr. Steger, Mr. Steger being president and manager, and Mr. 
Boehmer, vice president. They are both capable men in their line and are 
doing a good business. They manufacture various kinds of beer, all of a good 
quality, which they ship throughout this section of the state. 

On the 17th of October, 1882, Mr. Steger was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary Boehmer, a daughter of Henry and Margaret Boehmer. The mother is 
deceased but the family is still living. Three children have been born of this 
marriage; Hattie, the wife of John Hollenstein, Jr., of the wagon works, and 
the mother of three children ; and Josephine and Henry, both of whom are at 
home. 

The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church, and frater- 
nally the father is affiliated with the Maccabees. Mr. Steger is one of the sub- 
stantial citizens of Mayville, in the progress and development of which he has 
taken an active interest during the thirty years of his connection with its busi- 
ness interests. 



LOUIS E. KRONITZ. 

Louis E. Kronitz is the proprietor of the Buena Vista Hotel, a well kept 
and modern hostlery, at the corner of Fourth and Jones streets, Watertown, 
and his able management of its affairs has placed him among the leading busi- 
ness men of the city. He was born in Portland township, Jefferson county, 
February 2, 1873, a son of Frederick and Amelia (Gorder) Kronitz, the former 
a native of Dodge county and the latter of Germany. The father of our sub- 
iect was reared upon a farm and was identified with agricultural interests in 
Portland and Lebanon townships for many years. In the latter section he 
owned one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he improved and developed 
along systematic and practical lines, making his farm one of the finest in the 



362 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



township. When he abandoned agricultural pursuits he moved to Watertown 
and bought the Washington Hotel, which he operated until 1904, when he re- 
tired. He makes his home in Watertown. His wife came to America with her 
parents when she was only a year old and grew to womanhood in Dodge county. 
In their family were four children : Albert, who died in infancy ; Louis E., of 
this review ; Ida, the widow of Otto H. Novack, of Watertown ; and Henry W., 
proprietor of the Washington Hotel in Watertown. 

Louis E. Kronitz was a small boy when his parents moved to Watertown 
and consequently his education was begun in the public schools of this city. 
When he had completed the high school course he entered the Northwestern 
College and attended that institution for one year. After laying aside his books 
he learned the shoemaker's trade but never followed it. He enlisted as a musi- 
cian in the Seventh Regiment, United States Army, and was stationed with his 
company at Fort Logan, Colorado, and served for three months. At the end 
of that time he was discharged for disability. Returning to Watertown, he 
went to Clyman and there bought a hotel and saloon, which he conducted for 
thirteen years, gaining distinct success by his ability. When he sold out his 
holdings in Clyman he bought the Buena Vista Hotel in Watertown, which he 
is conducting at the present time. Long familiarity with the details of hotel 
management and a distinct business ability have made him successful in the 
direction of this enterprise. He is active and progressive and has made good 
use of his many opportunities with the result that he is ranked among the sub- 
stantial and important men of Watertown. 

On the 8th of April, 1896, Mr. Kronitz married Miss Ida Hose, a daughter 
of Henry and Maria Hose, natives of Germany and early settlers in Jefferson 
county. The father was a soldier in the Civil war and after his discharge farmed 
in Wisconsin for a number of years, dying in Jefferson county at the age of 
eighty-two. His wife passed away when she was eighty-four years of age. 
They had six children, Fred, Henry, Margaret, Ida, Emma, and a child who died 
in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Kronitz became the parents of two children: 
Gretchen ; and Ada, who died when she was five years of age. The family are 
members of St Mark's Lutheran church. 

Mr. Kronitz is a democrat but is not active in political circles. He gives 
most of his time to the management of his hotel, his only other business interest 
being his connection with the Citizens & Farmers Bank. He deserves great 
credit for what he has accomplished during his connection with business inter- 
ests in Watertown and his work has had its influence upon the growth of com- 
mercial activity of the city. 



HON. EUGENE O'CONNOR. 

Seventy years' residence in Dodge county makes Eugene O'Connor one of 
its oldest citizens, while his life work entitles him to the respect, confidence and 
honor of his fellowmen. He now lives on section 11, in the town of Emmet, 
and was but four years of age when brought to Dodge county, his birth having 
occurred in South Brookfield, Massachusetts, on the 25th of August, 1838. His 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



365 



father, Daniel O'Connor, was born and reared in Ireland and was there married. 
In 1831 he removed westward to the new world, settling first in Massachusetts, 
where he remained for eight or nine years. For a time he rented land and en- 
gaged in farming in that district. Subsequently he removed northward to Wis-, 
consin, settling in Dodge county in 1842. The whole countryside was an unbroken 
wilderness, for the seeds of civilization had scarcely been planted in this district 
at the time. Mr. O'Connor purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land that 
was covered with a native growth of timber and after making a little clearing he 
built a log house, in which he lived for a number of years. Gradually he further 
cleared and developed the place and transformed it into a good farm. He bought 
more land from time to time and became owner of two hundred and forty acres, 
constituting a rich and well developed tract, upon which he reared his family. 
He lived a long and useful life and died at the ripe old age of ninety-nine years 
and six months, passing away in July, 1882. He had long survived his wife, 
who died in 1865. 

Eugene O'Connor is one of a family of four sons and two daughters, all of 
whom reached adult age. Of this family one son, Daniel O'Connor, is now living 
in the state of Washington, while a sister, unmarried, makes her home with her 
brother, Eugene. These three are the only surviving members of the family of 
Daniel O'Connor. 

Brought to Wisconsin when but four years of age, Eugene O'Connor was 
reared upon the old homestead farm and the experiences of frontier life early 
became familiar to him. He was educated in the public schools and throughout 
his life has been a reader and student, so that he has largely added to the knowl- 
edge gained in the schoolroom. In fact he has kept abreast with the trend of 
modern thought and progress and is conversant with the leading questions and 
interests of the day. 

On the 10th of November, 1870, Mr. O'Connor was united in marriage to 
Miss Margaret Buckley, a daughter of Daniel Buckley, one of the pioneers of 
Dodge county. Mrs. O'Connor was born and reared in this county and here 
passed away on the 15th of September, 1907, her death being deeply deplored by 
many who knew her. In their family were eleven children: Daniel; Eugene, 
who is married and lives on a farm belonging to his father; John J., who is a 
practicing dentist in the state of Washington ; Frank, residing on the old home- 
stead; Edward, a machinist of Racine, Wisconsin; William and Charles, both at 
home ; Mary, at home ; Margaret, who is engaged in teaching in Dodge county ; 
Catherine, also a teacher; and a son, Charles Arthur, who died in infancy. 

Following his marriage Eugene O'Connor took up his abode on the old home 
farm, where also lived his brother, Jeremiah O'Connor, who died in 1884. As 
time passed on, Eugene O'Connor added to his property and is now the owner 
of two excellent farms, consisting of four hundred and forty acres. Both places 
are well improved, being equipped with modern buildings, the latest machinery 
and all those things which are elements of a mode! farm. 

In his political views Mr. O'Connor is a democrat, interested in the success 
of the party and always keeping well informed on the vital questions and issues 
of the day. In former years he was quite active in politics and did effective serv- 
ice for his party and as a public official. He was elected and served on the town 

board and in 1868 was nominated for the general assembly. By choice of the 
\d. n— 2 1 



366 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



people, he became a member of the house and made an honorable record as one 
of its active working members, serving on a number of important committees. 
In 1876 he was elected clerk of the court and filled that position for two years. 
He has since been chairman of the town board for a number of years and has 
frequently been a delegate to both county and state conventions. Throughout 
his life he has been actuated by a public-spirited devotion to the general good 
and is known as one of the progressive and honored citizens of Dodge county, 
where he has now lived for more than the Psalmist's allotted span of life of 
three score years and ten. 



One of the foremost educators in this section of Wisconsin is Lawrence S. 
Keeley, principal of the Mayville high school, and a member of the executive 
committee of the State Teachers Association, of which organization he was 
formerly president. Practically his entire life has been passed in Dodge county, 
his birth having occurred at Fox Lake, on the 7th of February, 1 858. He is of 
Irish extraction, his parents, Michael and Katherine (Kenney) Keeley having 
been born and reared in County Galway, Ireland. The father, who was a farmer 
came to the United States in 1847, spending the first two or three years of his 
residence in this country in the state of New York, where he was married. In 
1851, together with his young wife he came to Dodge county, locating in Fox 
Lake township, where he purchased a hundred and twenty acres of timber land. 
Here they lived in the primitive manner prevalent in every frontier country, 
their residence being a crude log cabin similar to those of the other pioneers 
of that period. Their means were limited, but they possessed an abundance 
of energy and determination and bore uncomplainingly the many hardships and 
privations, which would have hopelessly discouraged people of less persistence 
and resolution of purpose. Mr. Keeley diligently applied himself to the further 
improvement and development of his farm during the remainder of his active 
life, his death here occurring on the 4th of December, 1886. He was seventy-eight 
at the time of his demise, while the mother who survived him until the 10th of 
July, 1907, had attained the venerable age of eighty-four when she passed 
away. To them were born five children, our subject being the third in order of 
birth. 

The early life of Lawrence S. Keeley was in every respect similar to those 
of other pioneer youths of Wisconsin. Reared on a farm, he began his educa- 
tion naturally, in the district schools, which he attended until he was seventeen 
years of age. The succeeding two years he devoted to teaching, subsequently 
continuing his education in the graded schools of Randolph and the Wisconsin 
Academy at Fox Lake, of which he became a student in 1878. Later he at- 
tended the Wisconsin University for a time, and also the Normal School at 
Platteville, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1882. 
Immediately thereafter he began teaching in the schools of Highland, this state, 
going from there to Fox Lake, where he remained for six years in the capacity 
of principal. He gave most efficient service in this connection, fuundin? the 



LAWRENCE S. KEELEY. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



867 



high school, while it was largely due to his efforts that a new school building 
was erected at that time. In 1890, he resigned his position there to accept the 
principalship of the Mayville high school, where he has served continuously ever 
since with the exception of about eighteen months. As he is ambitious and has 
strong scholarly instincts,. Mr. Keeley has always utilized his leisure time to 
good advantage, and during the early years as teacher he began the study of 
law, being admitted to the state bar in 1887. He was never actively identified 
with the profession until 1897, however, when he resigned his position as prin- 
cipal of the high school and engaged in the practice of law with Frank Law- 
rence. Legal affairs claimed his undivided attention for a year and a half there- 
after, at the expiration of which time he yielded to the earnest solicitation of 
the local school board to complete an unexpired term as high school principal, 
and has ever since retained this position. While he gave promise of becoming 
a clever and efficient representative of the bar, without doubt Mr. Keeley's 
larger field of usefulness has been found in the schoolroom. His varied career 
and early struggles in obtaining an education, together with the long days of 
toil spent in the fields of the home farm during his boyhood enable him to enter 
into the aims and hopes of the ambitious lad with that broad, human under- 
standing and appreciation characteristic of the self-made man. The greater 
part of his education has been self-acquired and to this fact is largely attributable 
the breadth of view and independence of thought he has ever manifested in his 
work. A practical man, Mr. Keeley has made a careful study of the needs of 
the average American boy and girl, and so far as lies within his power has 
adapted the curriculum of his school to meet their requirements. He strongly 
advocates the training of the hand as well as the mind, and believes in fitting 
every youth and maid to become a useful member of society. With this pur- 
pose in view there has been added to the regular course of the Mayville high 
school classes in manual training and domestic science, the results of which are 
readily recognizable in the greater resourcefulness and self-reliance of the 
young people. Although he has always lived in the quiet, unobtrusive manner of 
the man with a mission to perform, Mr. Keeley has achieved much more than 
a local reputation among the educators of the state. He has long been identified 
with the Wisconsin State Teachers Association and in 1910 was elected vice 
president of the organization. The next year he succeeded Mr. Parlin as presi- 
dent and he is now a member of the executive committee of the association, 
and he is also a state conductor of teachers* institutes. His field of usefulness 
has not stopped with the schoolroom but has extended into the business world 
and he was one of the organizers of the State Bank of Mayville and is now sec- 
retary of its board of directors. He is also a member of the board of directors 
of the Mayville Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a thriving local enterprise. 

In this city on the 9th of August, 1892, Mr. Keeley was united in marriage 
to Miss Bertha Langenbach, a native of Mayville and a daughter of John and 
Maria Langenbach, both of whom arc still living, the father at the venerable 
age of eighty-two and the mother at seventy-five years. They were born and 
reared in Germany but came to America in early life, locating in Dodge county 
during the pioneer period. For many years the father conducted a hotel at 
Theresa, this state, but he is now living retired in Mayville. To Mr. and Mrs. 



Digitized by LaOOQle 



368 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Kceley have been born four children: Margaret, who has graduated from the 
high school ; and Clarence, Lawrence and Helen. 

The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Keeley 
is a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and Knights of Columbus. As 
a citizen as well as an instructor he is broad-minded and progressive and is 
one of the active workers and enthusiastic members of the Business Men's 
Club, earnestly indorsing its various movements and cooperating in forwarding 
the town's development in every possible manner. A residence in Mayvillc 
covering a period of more than twenty years, during which time he has been 
prominently identified with the life of the community as the incumbent of a 
most difficult position, being subject to the criticism and comment of both old 
and young, interested and disinterested, has shown Mr. Keeley to possess the 
loyalty, singleness of purpose and general excellence of character desirable in a 
man who is directing the development and training of the young. 



Herman J. Thielke is one of the enterprising citizens of Mayville, where he 
engages in the lumber and insurance business and also owns and operates a farm 
of a hundred and twenty-three acres. He was born in Huelsburg, Wisconsin, 
on the 27th of July, 1867, and is a son of August and Margaret (Huels) 
Thielke. The father, who is engaged in the general mercantile business in 
Huelsburg, was born in Prussia on the 3d of February, 1830. There he was 
also reared and educated and subsequently learned the brewer's trade. He came 
to America ih 1854, first locating in Theresa, where he engaged in farming for 
eight years. At the expiration of that time he removed to Huelsburg, and here 
he purchased a brewery and farm, which he likewise operated for eight years. 
Selling -his brewery, he subsequently purchased the general mercantile business 
of J. Huels, which he is still conducting. He is one of the substantial men of 
the town and in addition to his other interests owns a farm of a hundred and 
seventy-eight acres in Herman township. Mr. and Mrs. Thielke are the parents 
of ten children, our subject being the fifth in order of birth. They are members 
of the German Lutheran church and Mr. Thielke votes the democratic ticket. 

Dodge county has always been the home of Herman J. Thieke, who passed 
his boyhood in very much the same manner as other lads who were reared in 
this section of Wisconsin at that period. He was educated in the district 
schools and worked on his father's farm, thus acquiring a thorough knowledge 
of the duties and responsibilities of the agriculturist, and later assisted in the 
store. In 1892 he took the agency of the Cameron & Cameron Company, a 
lumber concern of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Two years later he purchased their 
local business, which he successfully conducted until 1900, when he sold it to 
Denison, Liver & Company of Hartford. Wisconsin. Three years later he 
engaged in the fire insurance business, obtaining the agency of several reputable 
companies with which he is still identified. In 1906, he still further extended 
the scope of his activities by again purchasing the lumber business which he had 
formerly conducted. Mr. Thielke is also managing his farm of a hundred and 



HERMAN J. THIELKE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



369 



twenty-three acres, his energies largely being devoted to the raising of Holstein 
cattle and Poland China hogs, in both of which lines he is meeting with a good 
measure of success. 

On the 14th of February, 1893, Mr. Thielke was united in marriage to Miss 
Catherine Hamm, a native of Kohlville, Washington county, this state, and a 
daughter of Jacob and Wilhelmina (Brissell) Hamm. The father, who was 
engaged in the general mercantile business and farming at Kohlville, passed 
away in 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. Thielke have one child, Adela, who is living at 
home. 

The family are members of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Thielke gives his 
political allegiance to the democratic party. He is one of the substantial 
citizens of the town and one of its foremost business men, taking an active 
interest in forwarding various local industries. He owns stock in the Mayville 
Canning Company, State Bank of Mayville, the Mexican Copper & Gold Mines 
Company, and the Old Line Life Insurance Company, all thriving and prosper- 
ous enterprises. Descended from well known pioneer settlers, Mr. Thielke is 
widely known in this vicinity, and enjoys the regard of a large circle of friends, 
many of whom were comrades of his boyhood. 



CULVER E. HOOKER. 

Culver E. Hooker is one of the well known citizens of Waupun, Wisconsin, 
and has the distinction of being in years of service the oldest law practitioner 
in that city. He was born in Waupun, February 10, 1855, and is a son of Eli 
and Catherine R. (Sharp) Hooker. The father wa.s a native of New York 
and the mother of Ohio. They celebrated their wedding in Milwaukee and 
later established their home in Fond du Lac. Both were of English descent. The 
founder of the Hooker family in America, of which our subject is descended, 
was Thomas. Hooker, who settled in Connecticut in early colonial times and was 
a member of the committee that drafted the constitution of Connecticut, which 
was used as a model at the time of the drafting of the constitution of the United 
States. The father of C. E. Hooker was by profession a lawyer and settled in 
Waupun in the early '40s and was the first of his profession to engage in 
Waupun in the general practice of law. He was actively associated with the 
republican party and was influential in its local organization. He continued 
in the practice of his profession in Waupun until 1889. His wife died in Janu- 
ary, 1890. Eli Hooker was a Methodist in religious faith, while his wife was 
a member of the Baptist church. They were the parents of four children, 
as follows: Mrs. Viola A. Bell, who is a resident of Waupun; Culver E., of 
this review; Rosa, who passed away at the age of seven years; and Lillian K., 
who gave her hand in marriage to Burr W. Davis. 

Culver E. Hooker was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public school in Waupun. After completing his elementary course of 
studies he was later a student of Lawrence University at Appleton, Wisconsin, 
after which he attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, from which 
he was graduated with the degree of A. B., in the class of 1878. He read law 



370 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



under his father and was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1880, after which 
he at once established himself in the general practice of law in Waupun. He 
was a member of the state assembly in 1886 and has been a member of the county 
board for thirty-one years. He has also been city attorney of Waupun for the 
past fifteen years and -the public administrator of Dodge county for four years. 

Mr. Hooker was united in marriage in 1881 to Miss Josephine L. Wheeler, 
of Waupun. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George F. Wheeler, her father 
being one of the early pioneers of Dodge county and a man prominent in po- 
litical affairs in his part of the state. To Mr. and Mrs. Hooker two children 
were born, one of whom died in infancy, while the other met death in a rail- 
road accident. The mother of this family died in January, 1890, and our sub- 
ject was married in April, 1892, to Miss Mary A. Wight, of Waupun. She is 
a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander P. Wight. Mr. Wight was engaged in 
farming and later took up the implement business, in which he continued until 
retiring from active life. He and his wife were among the early pioneers of 
Dodge county. Mr. and Mrs. Hooker arc the parents of one child, Edward 
Wight, aged thirteen. 

Mr. Hooker is a member of the Masonic blue lodge, of which he has been 
master, and has also been high priest of Chapter No. 48, at Waupun, for thir- 
teen years and also belongs to the Commandery No. 5, of Fond du Lac. Mrs. 
Hooker is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Hooker is known in 
legal circles in Wisconsin as one of the leading men of his profession and he is a 
man of influence and held in high esteem by the citizens of the city and county 
in which he lives. 



HERMAN PAUTSCH. 

Herman Pautsch, the owner of a well improved and productive farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres in Chester township, has won success in its care- 
ful and systematic operation. His birth occurred in that township on the 12th 
of October, 1874, his father being Carl Pautsch, a sketch of whom appears on 
another page of this work. He attended the public schools in the acquirement 
of an education and subsequently worked on his father's farm until twenty-two 
years of age. At that time he learned the blacksmith's trade, working at that 
occupation in Juneau for about four years. Subsequently he spent two years in 
the employ of L. C. Pautsch and about 1902 rented a tract of one hundred and 
sixty acres in Chester township, cultivating the land for a period of eight 
years. In 1910 he purchased the property and it has since remained in his pos- 
session. He devotes his attention to the pursuits of farming and dairying and 
has met with success in both connections. He has erected a new residence and 
repaired the other buildings and has a model farming property. 

In 1896 Mr. Pautsch was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Schwantcs. 
who was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, on the 30th of January, 1878, her parents 
being Albert and Corlena (Radant) Schwantes. the former a native of Theresa 
township, this county. Carl Schwantes, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. 
Pautsch, was born in Pommern, Germany, and emigrated to the United States 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



871 



in 1846, while the following year he located in Theresa township, Dodge 
county, Wisconsin. He had eleven children, of whom Albert Schwantes was the 
third son born. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Schwantes, who are still living, were the 
parents of six children, four of whom died in early life. The two surviving 
are as follows : Emma, who is still under the parental roof ; and Mrs. Louisa 
Pautsch. Our subject and his wife have seven children, namely: Arnold, Carl, 
Elda, Orris, Edna, Ena and Herman, Jr. The members of the family attend the 
services of Immanuel's Lutheran church at Burnett. Mr. Pautsch has always 
lived in this county and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow towns- 
men in a degree that can only be won by a life of probity, while his traits of 
character have won him a wide circle of warm friends. 



JACOB MUELLER. 

Jacob Mueller has for twenty-eight years been the proprietor and editor of 
the Dodge County Pionier, one of the best known and most popular German 
publications in this section of the state. He is a native of Wisconsin, his birth 
having occurred in Milwaukee on the 4th of November, 1849, and a son of 
George and Anna (Poellert) Mueller. The parents were born, reared and mar- 
ried in the town of Hersbruck, Bavaria, Germany, whence they emigrated to the 
United States in the spring' of 1849, locating in Milwaukee, where the father, 
who was a carpenter and woodturner, diligently plied his trades. He was one 
of the many victims of the cholera scourge which swept through this state in 
1853, his death occurring just four years after he settled in America. He left 
his widow and one son, Jacob Mueller. The mother, who celebrated the eighty- 
sixth anniversary of her birth on October 24, 1912, still resides in Milwaukee. 

The only child of a widow in limited circumstances, Jacob Mueller, early as- 
sumed the duties of manhood by becoming self-supporting. His education was 
acquired in the German parochial and public schools of his native city, which 
he attended until he was a youth of thirteen years. He then started out to make 
his own way in the world and during the succeeding two years followed such 
employment as usually falls to the lot of an inexperienced lad. On July 16, 
1865, he obtained a place as apprentice on the Milwaukee Herold, being identified 
with this office for eight years. Having decided to become a newspaper man, he 
not onlv mastered the compositor's trade but acquired a thorough knowledge of 
the business generally, with the firm resolution of some time having a paper of 
his own. He resigned his position with the Herold on the 14th of June, 1873, 
and on June 16, of the same year, became a compositor on the Germania, which 
paper started business at that time and which gave employment to three other 
compositors. He was the first one to set the type for the first copy of this paper, 
now one of the best known German publications in Wisconsin. Mr. Mueller 
remained a member of their force until June 30, 1884. On the second day of 
the month following he came to Mayville and took possession of the "Dodge 
County Pionier" as sole proprietor. This paper was founded on the 10th of 
March, 1876, by Henry Spiering, who edited it for a time and then sold it. Dur- 
ing the intervening years it passed through various hands, always reverting to 



372 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. Spiering until purchased by Mr. Mueller. It was published weekly until 
1894, since which time it has been issued semi-weekly, the general popularity 
and size of the publication warranting this change. It is a clean, wholesome, 
newsy sheet of democratic political principles, its columns stanchly indorsing 
the candidates and platforms of this party. Mr. Mueller is a man of high 
standards of citizenship and progressive ideas as he plainly manifests through 
the medium of his editorials, and can be depended upon to give his support to 
every progressive movement he feels will tend to promote the development of 
the town or advance the welfare of its residents. He fully appreciates the power 
of the press and exercises his influence in support of every worthy movement, 
and being a man of pronounced ideas and independent views expresses himself 
clearly and forcibly. Absolutely fearless, he is as ready to denounce evil as 
commend good, never leaving any doubt in the minds of his readers as to his 
attitude on a question affecting the interest or welfare of the community. 

At Milwaukee on the 5th of June, 1875, Mr. Mueller was married to Miss 
Anna Scherer, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Johann Bading. Mrs. 
Mueller is a daughter of Adam and Friederike Scherer, natives of Germany, who 
came to America in 185 1 or 1852, locating in Milwaukee where their daughter was 
born March 19, 1855. The father was a shoemaker by trade and also a musician 
of more than average ability. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Mueller, of whom four died in infancy. The two following are living : Conrad, 
who is married and works for his father; and Emma, the wife of Fred Braun, a 
native of Germany, by whom she has had two children, the elder a son having 
died and Florence, whose birth occurred on January 21, 1906. They are residing 
in Mayville, Wisconsin. 

In religious faith the family are Lutherans and belong to the German church 
of that denomination, and Mr. Mueller votes the democratic ticket. He has met 
with very good success in his business undertakings and in addition to his other 
interests owns and conducts the Beaumont Hotel, the best hostelry in the town. 
Mr. Mueller is one of the widely known and highly esteemed residents of the 
community and has many stanch friends among both the German and American 
citi«ens of Dodge county. 



Eugene Moldenhauer owns and operates one hundred and fourteen acres of 
land on section 26, Lebanon township, the homestead upon which he was born 
and upon which his entire life has been spent. I-ong familiarity, early experience 
and special training have made him an able and successful farmer and are the 
foundation of an efficiency which combined with well directed labor have made 
his farm a model agricultural property. He was born the 17th of March, 1881, 
a son of August and Dina (Wagner) Moldenhauer, natives of Dodge county of 
German parentage. They are residing in Watertown, the father having reached 
his sixty-first year and the mother her fifty-sixth. They have two children: 
Laura, who married John Woltmann, a farmer in Lebanon township: and 
Eugene, of this review. 



EUGENE MOLDENHAUER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



373 



Eugene Moldenhauer was educated in the public schools of his native sec- 
tion and has always lived upon the homestead he is now operating. He does 
general farming and stock-raising, and is making a specialty of breeding pure- 
blooded Holstein cattle and Chester White hogs. He has a model and sanitary 
dairy, keeping twelve cows for this purpose and selling his milk to a neighboring 
cheese factory. Seventy acres of his land are in hay and grain, all of which he 
feeds to his stock with the exception of his barley which he sells. He has greatly 
improved the homestead since he assumed its management and most of the barns 
and outbuildings were erected by him. The principal barn was built in 1903 and 
is one hundred feet long by forty feet wide and equipped with modern acces- 
sories. Mr. Moldenhauer resides in a comfortable brick house, erected in his 
father's time. He has many friends in this section where he has resided since 
his birth. 

In 1903 Mr. Moldenhauer was united in marriage to Miss Emma Woltmann, a 
daughter of William and Louisa (Wagner) Woltmann, who were among the early 
settlers in Dodge county, coming to this section from Germany. They are re- 
siding in Watertown. Mrs. Moldenhauer was born November It, 1878, and 
lived at home until her marriage. She and her husband have two children, Elmer 
and Alice, who live at home. 

Mr. Moldenhauer is a democrat and has served for two years as chairman of 
Lebanon township. He and his family belong to the Immanuel Evangelical 
Lutheran church. Most of his time and attention are given to the improvement 
and development of his farm. His agricultural labors are carried on along pro- 
gressive lines and, being practical, have resulted in a model farm, every depart- 
ment of which is intelligently managed and in excellent condition. Mr. Molden- 
hauer has devoted the activities of his life to one thing and in consequence has 
done that thing well, his fine property standing as an evidence of his ability and 
industry. 



JACOB KOLL. 

Jacob Koll is one of the well known and substantial citizens of Theresa Sta- 
tion, where he is engaged in the operation of a large grain elevator and in the 
buying and selling of corn, grain and seeds. He is interested in the commercial 
progress of the village where he has resided since he was twenty-three years of 
age and is prominent and active in the management of severaj local enterprises. 
He was born in Theresa township, April 3, 1859, a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth 
(Bodden) Koll, natives of Germany. The father crossed the Atlantic to America 
in 1848 and settled in Herman township, where he purchased the first farm in 
the district. Upon this he resided until 1851, coming in that year to Theresa 
township, where he bought eighty acres of land and began its improvement. 
He added to his holdings from time to time and at the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1886, he owned one hundred and eighty acres of highly developed 
and productive land. After his demise his wife sold part of the farm, retain- 
ing only one hundred and thirty-eight acres. She also was born in Germany and 



374 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



came to America when she was thirteen years of age, settling in Wisconsin with 
her parents in 1847. She is still residing in Theresa township. 

Jacob Koll is the third in a family of eleven children. He was educated in the 
district and parochial schools of his native section and spent his childhood upon 
his father's farm. When he was twenty-three years of age he obtained a position 
in the grain elevator at Theresa Station and has since been identified with that 
enterprise. In the year 1890 he purchased the business and has since conducted 
it independently. He also deals in corn, seeds and grain and has built up a 
steadily increasing trade in these commodities. 

In 1887 Mr. Koll was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meixberger, a daugh- 
ter of Joseph Meixberger, who was born in Germany and who came to America 
at an early date. He was a wagon maker by trade and followed this line of occu- 
pation until his death, which occurred in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Koll have six 
children: Orlando, who is cashier of a bank at St. Cloud, Fond du Lac county, 
and who is married and has one child ; Alphonse, who is a graduate of Marquette 
College and who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Theresa; and Leo, 
Edmund, Josephine and Marie, all of whom reside at home. 

Mr. Koll served as town clerk for five years. He holds stock in a cement 
block factory at Theresa and is interested in the Allenton State bank. The up- 
right and honorable standards by which he directs his life and the energy and 
ability which mark his business ability have gained him a high place in the re- 
gard of his fellow citizens as a native son whose activities have been useful and 
valuable. 



EDWARD A. MARSH. 

Edward A. Marsh is one of the highly respected citizens of Waupun, Wis- 
consin, of which city he has been a resident since 1901. He is the owner of one 
of the highly developed farms of Dodge county which he operates under lease, 
and makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred Holstein cattle. He was born 
February 7, 1864, in Chester township, Dodge county, and is a son of Silas A. 
and Lucy Ann (Davenport) Marsh, the former a native of St. Albans, Ver- 
mont, and the latter of Homer, Cortland county, New York. The father re- 
moved from his native state, settling in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, in 1839, 
where he remained for some time and later, in 1844, he established his home 
in Dodge county, where he continued to live until 1879. Silas A. Marsh was 
united in marriage to Miss Lucy Ann Davenport in Wisconsin, and they became 
the parents of four sons : Charles, Damon and William, all of whom are de- 
ceased; and Edward A., who is the subject of this review. The mother of this 
family was of Scotch descent and died in Waupun in 1904. 

Edward A. Marsh was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools. He remained under the parental roof and in later life took 
charge of his father's farm, on which he continued to reside until 1901. In 
that year he rented the old homestead which he now owns and removed to 
Waupun, where he has since continued to reside, having retired from ac- 
tive work. In 1908 he purchased stock in the National Bank of Waupun, after 



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which he was elected to the board of directors of that financial institution and 
has since continued to serve in that capacity. He is also one of the stockholders 
in the Palma Shoe Company of Waupun. 

Mr. Marsh was united in marriage Octob * II, 1893, to Miss Edith Belle 
Deverell of Dodge county. She is a daughter 01 William and Eliza Deverell, 
who were among the early settlers of Dodge county and later removed to Min- 
nesota, where the birth of Mrs. Marsh occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Marsh became 
the parents of three children, Hannah L., Florence E. and Edward T. Mr. 
Marsh gives his political support to the republican party, and has served on the 
board of supervisors and also for several terms has been treasurer of the town- 
ship in which he lives. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and has passed 
through all the chairs. He and Mrs. Marsh are communicants of the Congre- 
gational church. Mr. Marsh is one of the well known and valued citizens of 
Dodge county where, for many years, he has been successful in the conduct of 
his stock farm, making a specialty of raising Holstein cattle. He is always to be 
relied upon to give his assistance to the advancement of any public measure 
intended to improve the condition of people in his county and state. 



EDWARD A. BARTSCH. 

Edward A. Bartsch, who is engaged in the general mercantile business, has 
been identified with commercial interests in Mayville since 1904, with the excep- 
tion of two years. His birth occurred here on the 17th of March, 1875, his parents 
being Charles A. and Mary (Ende) Bartsch, both natives of Germany. The 
father was only a child when he came to America with his parents, who located in 
Dodge county in 1852. The paternal grandfather, Ernest Bartsch, was one of 
the pioneer farmers of this section, where he passed away a few years after his 
arrival. The education of Charles A. Bartsch was obtained in the schools of his 
home district and those of Mayville. After leaving school he turned his attention 
to agricultural pursuits for many years, subsequently becoming identified with 
the Northwestern Iron Company of Mayville. He is still living, as is also the 
mother, who was a girl of twelve or fifteen years when she came to the United 
States. They became the parents of three children, the daughter, Anna, mar- 
rying H. Bruder, who is engaged in the manufacture of cigars in Mayville. 

Edward A. Bartsch passed his boyhood and early youth in practically the same 
manner as other lads, who are reared in country communities. He received a 
common-school education and, having resolved to devote himself to commercial 
activities, after laying aside his text -books, entered the employ of William 
Schwartz, for whom he clerked for seven years. He next became identified with 
the firm of Lutz & Eldredge at Gardiner, Illinois, but two years later he returned 
to Mayville, accepting a clerkship in the general mercantile store of H. Hamm. 
His connection with this enterprise covered a period of six years, at the expira- 
tion of which time, in 1904, he and his brother, C. F. Bartsch, purchased the busi- 
ness. They were associated together under the firm name of Bartsch Brothers 
for nearly five years, meeting with a goodly measure of success in the develop- 
ment of their interests. Edward A. Bartsch next went into the commission busi- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



ness, as a member of the firm of Bartsch-Welsch Company, with which he is still 
identified. Two years later he extended the scope of his activities by again engag- 
ing in the general mercantile business in Mayville. 

On the 16th of October, 1899, Mr. Bartsch was married to Miss Bertha Such, 
a daughter of John and Amelia (Morenzine) Stach, natives of Germany. The 
mother is still living but the father, who for many years was connected with 
agricultural interests in Dodge county, is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Bartsch have 
one child, Arthur. 

Fraternally Mr. Bartsch is affiliated with the Mayville camp of the Modern 
Woodmen of America; Mayville Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M.; Horicon Chapter, 
No. 24, R. A. M. ; and the Gesang Verein. In his political views he is republican 
and is a member of the town council, of which he was president for three terms, 
and is now chairman of the committee on streets and bridges. In matters of 
citizenship as well as in those of business, Mr. Bartsch is enterprising and pro- 
gressive, discharging his duties in any connection with the punctuality and deci- 
sion characteristic of the man of well organized ideas and systematic methods. 



EMIL P. DORNFELD. 

For three generations members of the Dornfeld family have lived upon the 
old homestead and have farmed its two hundred and fifteen acres, located on sec- 
tions 21, 28, 29, and 35, Lebanon township. The present representative Emil P. 
Dornfeld, has one of the finest tracts of land in this district and is in the front 
rank of progressive agriculturists. He was born November 29, 1876, a son of 
Fred and Louisa (Baer) Dornfeld, natives of Germany, who came to America in 
1843, settling in Dodge county. The grandparents of our subject also located in 
this section at an early date and resided here until their deaths. Fred Dornfeld 
was one of the first farmers who purchased government lands in Lebanon town- 
ship and he followed general farming upon the property thus acquired until his 
death which occurred in 1890, when he was sixty-seven years of age. He is 
buried in Lebanon cemetery. His wife makes her home with the subject of this 
review. 

Emil P. Dornfeld was educated in the public schools of his native section, 
graduating from the Horicon high school in 1896. When he completed his studies 
he returned to the homestead and has since resided upon this property. He does 
general farming and stock-raising, milking twenty-five cows and selling his milk to 
a neighboring cheese factory. One hundred and sixty acres of his farm is under 
cultivation, the rest being marsh and woodland. He raises principally hay and 
grain, all of which, with the exception of his barley, he feeds to his fine herd of 
graded Holstein cattle and Chester White hogs. For his barley he obtains excel- 
lent prices in the local markets, the quality of his grain being well known. He has 
for some time specialized in the breeding of Belgium hares and has been unusually 
successful in this branch of his activities. He is also interested in raising sugar 
beets. His farm is modern and up-to-date in every particular, the improvements 
having been made by the father of our subject and kept in repair by constant care 
and supervision. 



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On December 26, 1906, Mr. Dornfeld was united in marriage to Miss Helen 
Braeger, a daughter of Angus and Tina (Ott) Braeger, early settlers in Dodge 
county. The father died in 1902 when he was fifty-three years of age and the 
mother makes her home in Watertown. They had six children, of whom Mrs. 
Dornfeld was the third, born September 16, 1886. Our subject and his wife have 
two children, Venita and Harold. 

Mr. Dornfeld gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is at present 
chairman of Lebanon township, in his first term of service. For three years he 
was township clerk and did able and conscientious work in this capacity. He and 
his family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. By constantly fol- 
lowing progressive methods and by making his long experience in practical agri- 
culture effective Mr. Dornfeld has put his farm in excellent condition and made it 
one of the most modern and highly developed properties in this section. 



GEBHARD WEBER. 

Gebhard Weber is proprietor of a large brewery in the village of Theresa 
and has been interested in this enterprise for almost forty years. During this 
period he has given most of his time and attention to its conduct and by reason 
of his long experience and the industry and integrity which are elements in his 
character has made it one of the important enterprises of its kind in Dodge 
county. He has been a resident of Theresa since he was seven years of age but 
was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, September 4, 1846. His father, Benedict 
Weber, came to America with his family in 1853 and settled in Theresa, where 
he became connected with the brewing industry. He followed that line of 
activity until his death, which occurred in 1864. His wife was in her maiden- 
hood Miss Josephine Weiss, a native of Germany, in which country their mar- 
riage occurred. She died in 1885. 

Gebhard Weber is the eldest in a family of four children. He was educated 
in the district and German schools of Dodge county and when he laid aside his 
books learned the brewing business, which he has followed since that time. It 
was in 1873 that he became sole owner of his present enterprise and for almost 
forty years has been active in its management. He has founded a distinct and 
substantial prosperity upon a thorough acquaintance with the best and most 
modern methods of brewing and upon business principles which are always 
fair and honorable and has made his brewery an important business institution 
and gained for himself recognition as a man of resourceful ability, whose ener- 
gies have been factors in the industrial growth of the village. He has invested 
the money which he made judiciously and owns stock in several local enterprises, 
including the electric light company. He is also the proprietor of a fine farm 
of one hundred and forty-six acres in Dodge county. 

On April 14, 1874, Mr. Weber was united in marriage to Miss Marie M. 
Husting, a daughter of Nicholas Husting, one of the first settlers in Theresa, 
who came to the village in 1855 and who died here in 1896. His wife was 
Miss Marion Faber and her death occurred in 1907. Mrs. Weber was born in 
Germany and was five years of age when she came to America. She has spent 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



practically all her life in Wisconsin. She and her husband have had eight chil- 
dren: Arnold E. ( who is married and resides in Theresa, where he is engaged 
in the insurance business; Bertram, who is engaged in the brewing business 
with his father and who is married ; Victor R., who with his wife and child 
resides in Theresa, where he is a hardware merchant; Cornelius G., of Great 
Falls, Montana, who was graduated from the University of .Wisconsin in 
1908 as an electrical engineer ; Waldemar, at home ; Alexia, who is a student in 
the Mayville high school ; Camilla, who is also attending high school ; and one, 
who died in infancy. 

Mr. Weber gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and was 
the first president of the village of Theresa. He is actively and intelligently 
interested in the affairs of the community but does not seek public office. He has 
been a business man since he began his active career and at the present time as 
head of a growing enterprise is evidencing qualities of sagacity, initiative and 
ability which have made him distinctly successful. 



Henry Fellenz is a partner in the firm of Fellenz & Bartelt, general merchants 
in Theresa, and has aided by his industry and experience in making the business 
with which he is connected flourishing and prosperous. He has been a resident 
of Wisconsin all his life and of the village of Theresa for seven years. He was 
born on December 4, 1876, in Scott township, Sheboygan county, a son of Joseph 
and Anna (Koelch) Fellenz. His father was a native of Germany and came to 
America when he was nine years of age, settling with his parents in Scott town- 
ship. "He was educated in the district schools and his active career was spent in 
farming. He lived in Sheboygan county for many years and there died in 1899. 
His wife is still living. 

Henry Fellenz is the fourth in a family of six children. He received his 
education in the district schools of his native section and after he laid aside his 
books clerked in general merchandise store in West Bend. There he remained 
for twelve years, gaining by personal experience valuable knowledge of modern 
methods of operation. In 1905 he removed to Theresa and formed a partnership 
with a Mr. Hagner in the operation of a general store which was conducted un- 
der the name of Hagner & Fellenz. After five years Mr. Hagner sold out his 
interests, which were purchased by Mr. Bartelt, and the enterprise has since 
operated under the name of Fellenz & Bartelt. By hard work, honesty and busi- 
ness ability Mr. Fellenz has been steadily successful in the management of his 
store and his trade is growing gradually but surely. In all his business affaiis 
he is alert and enterprising and has met with a degree of prosperity which re- 
wards labor when combined with efficiency. He is a stockholder in a local milling 
company and also in the Theresa Electric Light Company. 

In 1901 Mr. Fellenz was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Berrcs, of St. 
Michael, Washington county, and a daughter of John and Catherine Berres, the 
former a prominent farmer in that district. Mr. and Mrs. Fellenz have two 
children, Marcella and Pearlie. 



HENRY FELLENZ. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



379 



In his political views Mr. Fellenz is a consistent democrat, but his attention 
has always been absorbed by his mercantile interests and he has never sought 
public office. He works for his advancement and by promoting his own success 
along worthy and progressive lines has made his influence felt in the commercial 
development of the village. 



THEODORE LEHMANN. 

Prosperity has attended the efforts of Theodore Lehmann, a breeder of regis- 
tered Holstein-Friesian cattle and a well known farmer of the town of Emmet, 
who owns and cultivates a farm on section 22. Diligence and enterprise have 
constituted the foundation of his success and through well directed effort he has 
worked his way upward until his position as a leading business man, farmer and 
breeder of Emmet township is well established. He was born in Jefferson county, 
Wisconsin, July 16, 1874, and while spending his youthful days upon his father's 
farm attended the public schools during the winter months, while the summer 
seasons were devoted to farm work. He is, however, largely a self-educated 
man, acquiring much of his knowledge through reading and experience after 
attaining his majority. He clerked in a store for three years in early manhood 
and thus obtained a practical business training along commercial lines. Subse- 
quently he went to Milwaukee, where he was employed by the Milwaukee Har- 
vester Company and also worked for a time in the machinery business for other 
parties at Johnson's Creek, Wisconsin. In 1900 he came to Dodge county and 
for five years thereafter engaged in the cultivation of a farm. In 1905 he made 
purchase of eighty-one acres, constituting his present farm, and, locating upon 
this place, he began to further develop and improve it. It is an excellent property, 
being known as one of the leading stock farms of this part of the state. When 
he came to Dodge county in 1900 he brought with him some high-grade Holstein 
cattle, which he began to breed and improve and in 1903 he made his first pur- 
chase of registered stock. For the last five years he has handled only pure- 
blooded, registered cattle and he has raised and sold some fine animals, shipping 
stock to Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and to numerous points in other 
states. He now has a very fine herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle, which are tuber- 
culin tested. He has made some fine official records with some of his cows. The 
herd is headed by a bull whose dam, a sister of the world's record cow, Grace 
Fayne, with a record of thirty-five and fifty-five hundredths pounds of butter in 
seven days. Mr. Lehmann certainly stands in the front rank with a superior 
herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle, as is substantiated by the following, taken from 
the Watertown Times: 

"Editor Daily News: Last fall and winter I have seen a number of articles 
in the Times in regard to daily and monthly milk production, and the amount of 
money received per month at the Van Camp factory, but I have failed to see a 
single item in yearly production. So I thought it would perhaps interest some 
of your readers to know what has been going on at Inland Stock Farm with a 
herd of registered Holstcins, of which Watertown is the second largest center 
in the state, and Wisconsin is second in this continent. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



"My herd consists mostly of two and three year olds, and the milk was hauled 
to a cheese factory, averaging 8,402 pounds per head, for which I received $114.43 
per head. Besides all calves but two were raised on fresh milk until three months 
of age, which means at least 1,000 to 1,200 pounds per calf more, besides what 
was used in the home, and we all like it. This is not meant as a brag, because 
I know that there are other herds that have done a good deal better, but just to 
start the ball a rolling and get others to do likewise or better. I also expect to do 
better this year as most of my cows were young. — Theodore Lehmann, A Water- 
town Booster." 

In addition he is engaged in raising pedigreed seed grain, including barley, 
oats, corn and wheat. He is a member of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experi- 
ment Association and he stands for progress along all lines that contribute to the 
success and welfare of the farmer and stock-raiser. 

Mr. Lehmann was married in Watertown, October 31, 1900, to Miss Lillie 
Habhegger, who was born in Fulda, Minnesota, and came to Watertown with 
her family when she was eight years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Lehmann have four 
children, Otto, Ray, Theodore and Verna. Politically Mr. Lehmann is inde- 
pendent, supporting men and measures rather than party. He and his family are 
members of the Watertown Lutheran church and his interest in general affairs 
is that of a public-spirited citizen, who always stands for welfare and improvement. 



REV. FRANCIS C. PICHERY. 

Rev. Francis C. Pichery has for the past ten years officiated as priest of St. 
Andrew's church in Leroy and is well known as a devout and zealous worker 
in the interests of Catholicism here. His birth occurred in Beaver Dam, Wiscon- 
sin, on the 13th of October, 1867. his parents being J. H. and Mary (Kusterer) 
Pichery. The father, who was born in 1834, passed away in the year 1889, while 
the mother, whose natal year was 1836, was called to her final rest in 1906. 
Henry C. Pichery, the paternal grandfather of our subject, spent his entire 
life in Marburg, Germany. In his family were five children, three sons and two 
daughters. Two of the sons became physicians by profession. J. H. Pichery, 
whose birth occurred in Marburg, Germany, learned the barber's trade and also 
gained a knowledge of the profession of dentistry. He was the only son of his 
father's family who emigrated to America, crossing the Atlantic in 1854 and 
coming direct to Wisconsin. Locating at Beaver Dam, he there worked at his 
trade throughout the remainder of his life. At the time of the Civil war he 
went to the defense of the Union, enlisting at New Lisbon and making a credit- 
able record as a valiant and loyal soldier. It was shortly after his arrival in 
this county that he wedded Miss Mary Kusterer, a daughter of Michael and 
Mary (Kaufmann) Kusterer, both of whom were born near Ratisbon, Bavaria. 
They came to the United States in 1854, locating in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 
where Michael Kusterer worked at the tailor's trade. He later purchased land 
and turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits. In his family were 
seven children, of whom Mrs. Pichery was the third in order of birth. Unto 
Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Pichery were born four children, as follows: Anna, the 




REV. FRANCIS C. PICHKRY 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



883 



deceased wife of Lorenz Faust, of Oshkosh, by whom she had six children; 
William J., who is pastor of St. John's church in Jefferson, Wisconsin ; Francis 
C, of this review ; and Mary, who is the wife of Joseph Thomas, of Milwaukee, 
by whom she has two children. 

Francis C. Pichery obtained his early education in the parochial school at 
Beaver Dam and when a youth of fifteen entered St. Francis Seminary, from 
which he was graduated in 1895. He was first assigned as assistant to Father 
Willmes at St. Mary's church in Milwaukee, remaining there for two years. 
In 1897 he took charge of St. Charles church at Cassville, Grant county, Wis- 
consin, and in 1899 was transferred to Neosho. In 1902 he was given charge 
of St. Andrew's church at Leroy, Dodge county, and here he has remained to the 
present time. Under his supervision the convent was built in 1904, the school- 
house has been enlarged, stained glass windows have been placed in the church 
and the property has been improved generally, about twelve thousand dollars 
having been expended in this way during Father Pichery's pastorate. The 
church property is valued at about forty thousand dollars. St. Andrew's school, 
which was erected under Father Fessler in 1882, is taught by the Sisters of St. 
Dominic of Racine and has an attendance of about one hundred and fifty chil- 
dren. There are eight grades, and graduates are admitted to the Mayville high 
school. Rev. Pichery has the love and cooperation of his parishioners in an 
unusual degree and his labors are proving a potent element in the spread 
of Catholicity here. 



RICHARD ROLL, Sr. 

Since beginning his career at the age of sixteen Richard Roll's activities have 
touched and influenced every important phase of agricultural, business and edu- 
cational life of Hustisford township, his native section. While he engaged in 
farming he was one of the forces in the development and establishment of pro- 
gressive agricultural methods and his work along business lines in the village 
has been always of the constructive and forceful kind which promotes general 
activity. Mr. Roll was born one and a half miles from the village of Hustisford, 
on April 1, i860, and is a son of Frederick and Charlotte (Wegner) Roll, natives 
of Prussia, Germany, the father born March 1, 1830, and the mother, June 6, 
1833. They were married in Berlin and came to America in 1855, settling imme- 
diately in Hustisford township, on an unimproved farm. Upon his property 
the father of our subject resided until 1899, in which year he moved into Hustis- 
ford, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred January 3, 1903. He 
was one of the well known and widely popular men of this section and was 
interested in public affairs, especially as they effected school expansion. He held 
various offices along this line in his district and did able work in any position 
which he held. His wife survived him nine years, dying February 20, 191 2. 
They were the parents of four children: Frederick, who is living retired in 
Hustisford; Gustav, who is engaged in farming north of Mayville; Richard, of 

this review ; and Hattie, who resides with her oldest brother, 
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Richard Roll, Sr., acquired his early education in the district schools of Hustis- 
ford township and completed his studies in the Horicon high school and in Ripon 
College. He is in all essential respects a self-made man, for he began earning 
his own livelihood at the age of sixteen and has been independent of outside aid 
since that time. His first position was as a farm hand at fourteen dollars per 
month, but he worked in this capacity only during the summers, spending his 
winters in school. In this way he acquired an excellent education and by study, 
reading and observation, fitted himself for teaching. When he was eighteen 
years of age he took his first teacher's examination, standing before the examining 
board dressed in a pair of overalls. With his characteristic energy he worked 
his way upward in his chosen line of work and finally in 1882 became principal 
of the Hustisford schools. He held this position until 1902 but for some time 
conducted a general insurance and real-estate office in connection with his duties 
as a teacher. In 1902 he became cashier of the Hustisford State Bank and still 
continues in that position. He was the organizer of the Marshfield State Bank 
and was its president for three years, and is also connected as stockholder with 
the Burnett State Bank. He has proved himself a careful and conservative 
financier, a close student of modern banking methods and the institutions with 
which he is connected are among the most solid and reliable banks in this part 
of the state. However, his identification with banking forms only one of Mr. 
Roll's important business associations. He has been carried forward by sheer 
force of his ability and discrimination into relations which touch almost every 
kind of business enterprise in the township. He is vice president of the Mil- 
waukee Western Interurban Railroad Company, a director and stockholder in 
the Hustisford Canning Company, president of the Roll-Dehne Mercantile Com- 
pany at Burnett Junction, a stockholder in the Hustisford Mercantile Company 
and president of the Burnett Mercantile Company. He has besides become dur- 
ing the years an important factor in agricultural circles. He owns one hundred 
and sixty acres of the finest improved land in the county, which he has rented to 
the Hustisford Canning Company, and for thirty years he was secretary of the 
Hustisford Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, still retaining his membership. 

On January 11, 1882, Mr. Roll married Miss Anna Schmidt, who was born 
in Hustisford, August 12, 1862, a daughter of Dr. J. A. Schmidt, a native of 
Saxony, Germany. He and his wife came to America about the year 1857 and 
located in Hustisford, where Dr. Schmidt practiced his profession for over thirty 
years. At the end of that time he moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where he 
now resides, his wife having passed away in Hustisford. Mr. and Mrs. Roll 
have three children. Amos, who was born November 9, 1883, married Miss 
Meta Zilish, of Hustisford, and is cashier of the Marshfield State Bank at Marsh- 
field, Wisconsin. Hugo, whose birth occurred July 7, 1885, wedded Miss Bessie 
Winkie, of Burnett. They reside in Burnett Junction, where Mr. Roll is cashier 
of the Burnett State Bank. Richard, Jr., whose natal day was June 10, 1888, 
was united in marriage to Miss Dina Roeseler, of Hustisford. Mr. Roll is 
principal of the Hustisford schools. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Roll, Sr., are devout adherents of the Union church. 
Fraternally he is prominent in the Masonic order, holding membership in the 
lodge at Neosho and in the chapter at Horicon. He belongs also to the Modern 
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



385 



but upon all doubtful questions votes according to his personal conviction. He 
is president of the school board but beyond this has never been connected with 
official public life, and yet no man in the county is more richly endowed with the 
qualities essential to good citizenship — the active interest in development and 
growth, the quiet but forceful work along expanding lines, the steady adherence 
to high standards in business and private relations and the loyal public spirit. 



ROBERT IRVING. 

Robert Irving, living retired at No. 315 North Warren street, Watertown, has 
a record of over fifteen years of continuous identification with democratic politics 
of his county, during which time he was never defeated for office. His popularity 
and the efficacy of his work are evidenced by the fact that he was time after time 
given positions of trust and confidence by his fellow citizens who knew his reliable 
and upright qualities and who honored him for his work and achievement. He 
was born in the village of Greenbush, Rensselaer county, New York, February 
27, 1840, a son of Thomas and Mary (Casey) Irving, who were born in Ireland. 
The father of our subject was reared and educated in County Tyrone and came 
to the United States in 1833, settling immediately in Rensselaer county, New 
York, where he worked upon a farm for some time. Afterward he moved to 
Albany where he established a dairy, selling his milk in the markets of the city. 
This enterprise he conducted until 1846 when he moved with his family to Dodge 
county where he bought forty acres of government land in Clyman township, which 
he improved and developed, adding to his holdings from time to time until he 
had one hundred and forty acres. He died upon his farm June 18, 1873, when 
he was sixty years of age. His wife passed away June 4, 1873, also in her 
sixtieth year. Both were members of the Roman Catholic church. In their 
family were six children: Robert, the subject of this review; Maria, the wife 
of Jacob Burger, of Clyman township; Richard, of Watertown; Thomas, who has 
passed away; Catharine, the deceased wife of Mr. Milligan; and Sarah, the de- 
ceased wife of Patrick Stanton. 

Robert Irving was reared upon his father's farm in Dodge county, having 
reached the sixth year of his age when the family moved to that section. Con- 
sequently his early education was received in the district schools and when he 
had completed the usual course he entered Wayland University at Beaver Dam. 
In the fall of 1863 he began teaching school and for twenty-three years followed 
this line of occupation, being employed for seventeen years of that time in three 
adjoining districts. 

On the 26th of November, 1890, Mr. Irving married Miss Lizzie Lahm, a 
daughter of John and Anna Gertrude (Runkel) Lahm, who came to America 
from Prussia, in 1848, and located in Lowell township, Dodge county, where they 
passed away, the mother in 1872 when she was fifty-four years of age and the 
father in 1903, aged eighty-four. In their family were five children: Elizabeth, 
Caroline, William, Philip and Ettie. Mrs. Irving is a descendant of a long line 
of German ancestors, her paternal grandfather, John Lahm, being a native of 
that country and prominent in religious circles of that section. He and his wife 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



died in the fatherland. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Irving were John 
and Elizabeth (Hess) Runkel, who lived and died in Germany. Mrs. Irving was 
formerly a member of the Lutheran church, her parents and grandparents having 
been adherents of that religion. She and her husband, however, now belong to 
the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Irving was for many years prominent in demo- 
cratic politics in Dodge county, having made this his principal interest after he 
abandoned school teaching. He did able and effective work as supervisor of 
Clyman township and afterward held the positions of chairman and assessor of 
that district. For seven years he was chairman of Emmet township and for 
three years of that time was chairman of the county board, bringing to the dis- 
charge of his official duties a conscientiousness, energy, and resourceful ability 
which made him an ideal public servant. He met with his usual success during 
his four-year term as county clerk and only abandoned his active identification 
with local political life upon his retirement on April 27, 1897, when he moved to 
Watertown where he has since resided. He and his wife are highly respected in 
this city where their many worthy qualities of mind and character have gained 
them many friends. 



Horatio H. Hoard is one of the well known business men of VVaupun, where 
he is successfully engaged in the general mercantile business. He was born 
January 26, 1856, in Wyoming county, New York, and is a son of Harry H. and 
Rebecca (Avery) Hoard. The paternal great-grandfather was a Revolutionary 
soldier and the grandfather was a veteran of the War of 1812. He was one of 
the first settlers in Wyoming county, New York, where he died at the age of 
ninety-two. The grandmother died when ninety years old. The father of our 
subject was a recruiting officer during the war of the rebellion and later captain 
of the New York state militia. He died in New York in 1861. The mother, 
still living at the age of eighty-eight, maintains her residence with the subject 
of this review. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Jeannette, 
who passed away at the age of forty years; Oliver, who died when forty-five 
years old ; Lauren, who is engaged in the jewelry business at Waupun ; Horatio H., 
of this review ; and Ella, the wife of T. G. Simpson, of North Dakota. 

Horatio H. Hoard was reared in his parents' home and received his early 
education in the public schools. He later completed his high-school course at 
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At the age of sixteen he took up work for John Roberts 
of Waupun and continued in that occupation for four years. He then established 
himself in the general merchandising business, in which he has since continued and 
has met with gratifying success. His business is now operated under the firm 
name of H. H. Hoard & Son Company. 

Mr. Hoard was first united in marriage in 1876 to Miss Elva Wilcox, who 
was a granddaughter of the first settler of Waupun and a daughter of Heman 
and Esther (Maxwell) Wilcox. The mother was a native of Ireland and died 
at the age of forty. Mrs. Hoard was born in 1857 and died at Waupun in 1905. 
She was the mother of three children, as follows: Harry, born in 1885. who is 



HORATIO H. HOARD. 




HISTORY Of DODGE COUNTY 



387 



a graduate of the agricultural school at Madison ; Schuyler, whose natal year 
was 1887; and Nilla, who was born in 1889 and is still at home. The last 
named completed a course in domestic science at Downer College. In 1908 Mr. 
Hoard married Miss Frances Learned, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Monroe 
Learned, who were early settlers of Wisconsin. The mother is still living at 
the age of seventy-two and resides in Milwaukee. 

Mr. Hoard is affiliated with the democratic party and was appointed by 
Governor McGovern a member of the conservative commission of Wisconsin. 
He and his wife are members of the Congregational church of Waupun. Mr. 
Hoard has always been known as a man of strict integrity in business matters 
and has by virtue of a consistent and well ordered life acquired and maintained 
the respect and confidence of all the people with whom he has come in contact, 
and he is numbered among the useful citizens of his county and state. 



HERMAN ZIEMER. 

Herman Ziemer resides on section 29, in the town of Emmet, Dodge county, 
where he is well known not only as a practical and successful farmer but also 
as the efficient chairman of the town board. He is one of the county's native 
sons, his birth having occurred in the town of Lebanon, February 23, 1861. His 
father, Henry Ziemer, was born in Prussia, Germany, and was a son of Charles 
Ziemer, a carpenter by trade, who came to the new world with his family in 
1858. He made his way direct to Wisconsin, settling in Lebanon township, 
Dodge county, where he took up the occupation of farming, being among the 
first to engage in agricultural pursuits in that district. Henry Ziemer was a 
young man when he came with his parents to the new world and he soon became 
an active factor in the business activity of Dodge county. He was a successful 
farmer, purchasing and owning two different tracts of land which he brought 
under a high state of cultivation and developed into valuable properties. He 
spent his active life upon the farm and is now living retired at the age of eighty- 
three, while his wife is seventy-six years of age. They now make their home 
with their son Herman, who is caring for them in their declining years. The 
mother, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Schwartz, is also a native of 
Germany. 

Herman Ziemer is the only living son in a family of four children. He was 
reared upon the old homestead farm in the town of Lebanon and acquired his 
education in the common schools. His boyhood and youth were devoted to the 
work of the fields and later he took charge of the place and business, relieving 
his father of all care, labor and anxiety. The occupation to which he was reared 
he has made his life work and his well directed energies are evidenced in the 
excellent appearance of the place and the abundant crops there gathered. He 
now has a farm of ninety acres of well improved and valuable land and in 
connection with the tilling of the soil he makes a specialty of raising high-grade 
Holstein cattle. He is also a stockholder in the Globe cooperative cheese factory 
and carries on dairying to some extent, having a herd of twenty Holsteins. He 
also raises Chester White hogs and horses, and at all times he believes in the 



388 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



improvement of the grade of stock raised as well as in advancement in general 
agricultural matters. Aside from his individual interests as a farmer and stock- 
raiser he is a stockholder in the Inter-County Fair Association of Watertown 
and also of the Watertown Telephone Company. He is likewise a member of 
the Breeders Live Stock Association of Wisconsin and of the American Chester 
White Hog Record Association. 

In the town of Emmet, on the 5th of July, 1888, Mr. Ziemer was united in 
marriage to Miss Dina Hildermann, who was born and reared in this county. 
They have become the parents of five children, Delia, Sedia, Arthur, Aurelia and 
George. The eldest son is now assisting his father in carrying on the home 
farm. The parents arc members of the Watertown Lutheran church and Mr. 
Ziemer takes an active interest in local politics, having always given his support 
to the democratic party. Appreciative of his worth and ability, his fellow towns- 
men elected him chairman of the town board of Emmet, on which he has now 
served for two terms. He is an active and progressive man in both matters of 
citizenship and of business and his well formulated plans and unfaltering industry 
enable him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. 



James C. Moylan, who was born December 23, 1864. on the farm which he 
now cultivates, is a prominent agriculturist of Dodge county. His property 
comprises one hundred acres on section 17, Trenton township, which are highly 
improved and on which he follows agricultural pursuits along modern and 
progressive lines. Beside general farming he gives attention to stock-raising, 
making a specialty of dairying and the breeding of hogs and horses for the 
market. His labors have not only been of material success to himself but have 
played an important part in the development and progress of agricultural interests 
in this section. His parents were John and Catherine (Malone) Moylan, natives 
of the Emerald isle, who crossed the Atlantic to seek better living conditions in 
this land of opportunities. They were married in this county and soon after- 
ward the father bought the place on which our subject now resides and there 
made his home. It was in 1847 tnat Mr. and Mrs. John Moylan located here 
and they were among the early pioneers of this section. When the father acquired 
the land it was in a raw state and he made thereon the first improvements and 
gradually brought all the land under cultivation and attained success in his pur- 
suits. On the 9th of June, 1894, he passed away on this property, at the age of 
seventy-six years, while the mother had preceded him in death twenty years, 
having died in 1874, at the age of thirty-eight. They are both buried in St. 
Mary's cemetery in Trenton township. 

James C. Moylan was fourth in a family of eight children, of whom his 
brother Joseph P. was born February 3, 1867, and now lives on the home place 
with our subject. He has made the homestead his residence almost constantly 
and assists his brother in the management and labors on the farm. His, political 
affiliations are with the democratic party and he is a member of St. Patrick's 
church of Beaver Dam. 



JAMES C. MOYLAN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



James C. Moylan was reared upon the homestead and attended the public 
schools of the neighborhood. After laying aside his text-books he assisted his 
father in the work of the farm and gained valuable knowledge along agricultural 
lines, which stood him in good stead in later life. Since his father's death he 
has taken full charge and gives his attention to general farming and stock- 
raising. He has fourteen high-grade Holstein cows and sells his milk to the 
cheese factories. He makes a specialty of raising Poland China hogs for the 
market and also breeds Percheron horses. All his land is well improved and 
under the plow; his fields are fenced and about six acres are hog tight. In 
1903 he built a handsome frame residence upon the property, in which the family 
make their home. In 1895 he erected a barn, the dimensions of which are 
thirty-two by fifty-six feet, and he has put up other outbuildings to house his 
grain and stock. The water supply for all purposes comes from drilled wells. 

In 1896 Mr. Moylan was united in marriage to Miss Anna Bowe, a daughter 
of John and Ellen (Mahoney) Bowe, natives of Ireland. They were among the 
first settlers in this county and the father was a veteran of the Mexican war. 
Both parents of Mrs. Moylan have passed away and arc buried in St. Mary's 
cemetery. Mrs. Moylan was the youngest of eight children and was born June 
15, 1865. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Moylan have been born two children: James H., 
who is attending the State Agricultural College at Madison to better prepare 
himself for agricultural pursuits; and Helen C. 

Mr. Moylan is an adherent of the democratic party and votes for the candi- 
dates and measures of this organization in national and state politics. He takes 
laudable interest in local public affairs and is a champion of educational improve- 
ment. For twelve years he has served as a member of the school board and 
has been instrumental in bettering the school system and educational facilities 
of his district. Mr. Moylan and his family are devout communicants of St. 
Patrick's Catholic church of Beaver Dam and both he and his wife take an active 
interest in church work. His fraternal affiliations are confined to his member- 
ship in the Catholic Order of Foresters. Mr. Moylan has been an important 
factor in the agricultural development of the section in which he lives and his 
farm today is one of the model places of its kind in the county. He may well 
be proud of the success he has attained. He and his wife have made many 
friends in this section, in which he has lived since his birth, and both are highly 
esteemed by all those who know them. 



ERNST E. BUTTERBRODT. 

Ernst E. Butterbrodt was born January 7, 1858, in Germany, and is now 
living on one hundred and twenty acres of highly improved land on sections 8 
and 17, Trenton township. He engages in general farming and stock-raising and 
his efforts have been attended with remarkable success. He has greatly improved 
the farm upon which he lives and has placed thereon a fine residence and a 
number of other buildings necessary for its cultivation. His parents were August 
and Wi'helmina (Kuehn) Butterbrodt, who in 1864 emigrated from the father- 
land to America when our subject was only six years of age. They proceeded 



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390 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



directly to Wisconsin and there the father bought fifty-three acres of land, which 
were partly developed and where he has made his home ever since. 1* rom time 
to time he has added to his original farm until he owns one hundred and fifty 
acres. He now makes his home there at the age of eighty-three years. The 
mother is still living at the age of seventy-five. 

Ernst E. Butterbrodt was the eldest of ten children. He was reared at 
home and received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. He 
ably assisted his father in the work on the farm and became acquainted with 
•agricultural methods, remaining under the parental roof until he had attained 
the age of twenty-five, when he commenced upon an independent career by 
engaging in farm work on his own account on the place on which he now lives, 
which he bought at that time. Mr. Butterbrodt engages in general farming and 
stock-raising. He has a herd of fifteen cows and sells his milk to the cheese 
factories. He also raises Chester White hogs for the market. His land is all 
in a high state of cultivation and all the hay and grain is used for his stock except 
the barley, which he sells in the market. He follows along scientific lines in 
raising his stock and receives the highest prices the market commands for all 
his products. In 1907 he remodeled his residence, putting in modern improve- 
ments, and in 1910 he enlarged his barn, making it twenty-four by eighty-six 
feet, and placed a cement floor therein. He receives his water supply from 
drilled wells. There is a fine orchard upon his place, which has been set out 
by our subject, and all the improvements thereon have been brought about by 
his labors. Mr. Butterbrodt beside his farm interests is also a stockholder in 
the cheese factory. 

Mr. Butterbrodt married, on March 29, 1883, Miss Ida Zuclke, a daughter 
of Michael and Wilhelmina Zuelke, who were among the pioneer settlers of 
this county. Her father passed away before her marriage and her mother died 
in 1894. Mrs. Butterbrodt was the second of four children, born October 19, 
1854. To our subject and his wife eight children were born: Frank R., of 
Beaver Dam, who is married and has two children; Alvinjf, a record of whom 
appears elsewhere in this work; and Ella, Frida, Edwin, Roland, Nora and 
Alida, all of whom are at home. The two youngest, Nora and Alida, are now 
attending high school. Mr. Butterbrodt and his family are members of the 
Lutheran church of Beaver Dam and they take an active and helpful interest in 
this organization. He has attained a creditable success in his endeavors and 
his labors have contributed to the agricultural development of the state. He 
and his wife have made many friends in this section and they are greatly honored 
and esteemed by all who know them. 



ROLAND R. WILLIAMS. 

One of the well known native sons of Dodge county and one of the progres- 
sive and enterprising farmers and dairymen of Calamus township is Roland R. 
Williams, who is cultivating an excellent tract of one hundred and twenty acres 
on sections 14 and 23, constituting the farm upon which his father settled after 
hi* arrival from Wales in 1850. By industry and hard work he has brought 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



391 



his land to a high state of development, adhering steadily to his father's policy 
of improvement. Mr. Williams was born upon the farm which he is now operat- 
ing, July 14, 1850, and is a son of Owen and Margaret (Rowland) Williams, 
natives of Wales. The father emigrated to America in 1850 and settled upon 
a farm in Calamus township, which he cultivated and improved until his death, 
which occurred in 1873. Th e mother of our subject was born in 1813 and died 
in Dodge county in 1897. She and her husband had five children: John R., 
who is married and lives in Pasadena, California; Elizabeth, at home; Owen, 
a resident of Fallon, Montana; Thomas, who was born in 1855 and died in 
1873; and Roland R., of this review. 

Roland R. Williams was educated in the district schools of his native section 
and from his early childhood assisted his father in the work of improving and 
developing the homestead. He is now the owner of one hundred and twenty 
acres of land, eighty-five of which are under cultivation. It is a valuable and 
well improved property, equipped with fine buildings and modern accessories and 
its owner is accounted one of the progressive and substantial agriculturists of 
his section, his early training and his interest in his work constituting important 
elements in his success. He carries on general farming and raises cattle of all 
grades but his principal income is derived from his dairy, which is a model 
enterprise of its kind. He keeps a herd of high-grade cows for this purpose 
and sells his product to a neighboring cheese factory. 

Mr. Williams is a member of the Welsh Presbyterian church and is known 
throughout the section in which he resides as a man of exemplary character. 
He represents farming in its newest and most progressive developments and 
has won success by industry, ability and practical common sense, these qualities 
uniting to make him an upright man and a useful citizen. 



RICHARD MAURER. 

Richard Maurer was born August 9, 1853, in the town of Hartford, Wash- 
ington county, this state, and now resides on an extensive piece of highly culti- 
vated farm property, comprising three hundred and thirty acres on sections 4 
and 5, Trenton township. He has made a creditable record along agricultural 
lines, his course being marked by steady progress, gained through modern, 
progressive methods. His work has not only brought him material success but 
has been a valuable asset in the agricultural development of this section. His 
parents were Richard and Eva (Schroeder) Maurer, natives of Germany, where 
they were married before coming to America in 1853. After their arrival in 
this country they proceeded directly to Wisconsin and settled in the town of 
Hartford, Washington county, where the father bought land, which he brought 
under cultivation and where he made his home until 1877, when he sold his 
holdings to remove to Dodge county. Here he invested in one hundred and 
ninety acres, which form part of the place our subject now owns. It was partly 
improved at the time of the purchase and Richard Maurer devoted the rest of 
his life to its further improvement and cultivation. He passed away August 
17, 191 1, in his eighty-third year, and is buried in Oakwood cemetery at Beaver 



392 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Dam. The mother survives at the age of seventy-eight years and nukes her 
home with our subject. Richard Maurer was the eldest of seven children, of 
whom only two are now living, our subject and a sister, Alberta Dena, who 
makes her home with her brother. 

Richard Maurer was reared at home and gained his education in the district 
schools near his father's farm. Laying aside his text-books, he assisted his father 
in the work around the place and gained valuable agricultural knowledge. He 
became efficient along various lines of agriculture and stock-raising and the 
knowledge which he thus acquired has stood him in good stead in his later 
endeavors. Mr. Maurer engages in general farming and stock-raising. He 
specializes in raising pure-bred Shorthorn cattle for the market and has a herd 
of about eighty head. He raises pure-bred Chester White hogs and in these 
pursuits follows along the latest and most approved lines. All the hay and grain 
of his farm he uses for feeding purposes. The early improvements upon the 
place were made by his father, but all the later buildings have been erected by 
our subject and they stand today as a monument to his industry and progressive 
spirit. Mr. Maurer is also the owner of a threshing outfit and derives no 
inconsiderable revenue from this undertaking. 

In May, 1883, Mr. Maurer was united in marriage to Miss Tina Schliewert 
She was the youngest of seven children, born May 7, 1862. Mr. and Mrs. 
Maurer have three children : Albert, who is living on the home farm, assisting 
his father in the work about the place ; and Herman and Hilda, both at home. 
The family affiliate with the Lutheran denomination and are members of the 
church of Beaver Dam. Mr. Maurer is a republican and has been more or less 
prominent in the public life of his community. For two years he served as town 
treasurer and that he interests himself in the cause of education is indicated by 
the fact that he has acted as clerk of the school board for several years. Trenton 
township is better for his life's labor and he has contributed in no small way 
by his progressiveness and modern methods to the general agricultural develop- 
ment of this section. During his long residence here Mr. and Mrs. Maurer have 
made many friends, who find great satisfaction to honor this worthy couple 



ALBERT H. POTTS. 

Albert H. Potts, is well known in commercial circles of Fox Lake where he 
is conducting a modern drug store along practical and enterprising lines. He is 
recognized in the city in which he resides as a business man who by honorable 
and straightforward dealings and universal courtesy and intelligence has founded 
a sucrcssful and important enterprise. He was born in Marshall, Michigan, on 
February 2, 1848, and is a son of James D. and Phoebe (Hendrickson) Potts, 
natives of New York state. They died in California, the mother in 1859 and 
the father in 1886. 

Albert H. Potts was the older of two children born to his parents, and is 
the only one now living, his sister having died in infancy. He was educated in 
the public schools of Marshall, pursuing his studies in that city until he was ten 
years of age. He then went to California with his parents where he learned 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



393 



the printer's trade in Red Bluff, setting type with Anna Brown, the daughter of 
John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. Her family crossed the plains in 1862 
and the state of California erected for her a comfortable home in Red Bluff. On 
April 12, 1866, Albert H. Potts joined the Fifth Brigade, California Militia, 
known as the Lassen Rangers, and served for six months coming to Wisconsin 
at the end of that time, settling in Markcsan, where he obtained employment as 
a clerk in a drug store. Here he remained for six months and then became 
associated with a large general store where he was active for four years. In 
1871 he purchased a drug business in Brandon, Wisconsin, remaining in that 
city one year and then was active for a similar period in Minnesota. His resi- 
dence in Fox Lake dates from 1873, in which year he bought the property upon 
which he is now carrying on his drug business. It was then a bazaar and book 
store but Mr. Potts installed a complete line of drugs and has since been pros- 
perous and successful in this branch of activity. His store is one of the most 
important enterprises of its kind in Fox Lake and in its prescription department 
as well as in its more popular lines is expanding rapidly. 

In 1875 Mr. Potts was united in marriage to Miss Alice Manley, of Markcsan, 
who passed away in 1878. In 1880 our subject was again married, his second 
wife being Miss Nellie Williams, who was born and reared in Cambria, Wis- 
consin. Mr. Potts has three children: Ira, who is married and living in Buffalo, 
New York; Alice M., who became the wife of Mr. Thomas of Lake Crystal, 
Minnesota, by whom she has two children ; and John D., who lives in Milwaukee. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Potts is a consistent democrat. He never seeks 
public office, although he is interested in the progress and growth of the com- 
munity in which he resides. He practically demonstrates this by his investments 
in local enterprises, being at the present time a stockholder in the State Bank of 
Fox Lake and in the Fox Lake Canning Company. He has that claim to 
prominence in business circles which lies in the able and intelligent management 
of a flourishing and increasingly successful establishment He has built up a 
modern and up-to-date drug store but his success while it is valuable as a private 
and public asset is entirely secondary to the upright principles and straight- 
forward methods by which it has been attained. 



RICHARD A. CHARMLEY. 

Richard A. Charmley carries on general fanning, dairying and stock-raising 
upon ninety acres of land on section 15, Calamus township, and by reason of 
his long experience, his industry and intelligent activity has gained success in 
every department of his agriculture. He is a native son of the section on which 
he now resides and was born on the 23d of August, 1861. His father, Thomas 
Charmley, was born in England in 1823 and was the first person aside from the 
emigrants from Wales who located in what was known as the Welsh settlement, 
a tract of land reaching from Randolph, Wisconsin, to Columbus. The father 
of our subject took up his residence there in 1854, among the pioneers of the 
state. He was a minister of the Wesleyan Methodist church and very prominent 
in the councils of that organization, being one of the early circuit riders in Dodge 



394 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



county. He afterward associated himself with the Free Methodist church and 
was a member of that body at the time of his death, which occurred in 1903. 
His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Jane Jackson. She was born in 1825 and 
died in Pardeeville, Columbia county, in 1894. She and her husband had nme 
children: Hannah, who died in England when she was an infant; John, who 
was married and whose death occurred at Pardeeville, Wisconsin, in 1899; Ann . 
who married William Gunn and whose death occurred at Staples, Minnesota, 
on January 31, 1906; Thomas, who is married and lives in Rio, Wisconsin; 
Martha, who is the wife of Charles Stimes, of Merrill ; Ellen, the wife of Charles 
Worden, of Staples, Minnesota; Richard A., of this review; Joseph, of Staples, 
Minnesota; and Benjamin. 

Richard A. Charmley was reared at home and was educated in the district 
schools of his native section. He has followed farming practically all his active 
life and is now the owner of ninety acres of land, eighty of which are under 
cultivation. His farm is modern in its equipment and is intelligendy developed, 
entitling Mr. Charmley to rank among the progressive and successful men of 
his district. He carries on general agricultural pursuits and breeds cattle of all 
grades as well as Poland China hogs. His dairy, which is efficiently operated 
and kept always clean and sanitary, forms an important addition to his income. 

Mr. Charmley was married in 1889 to Miss Ellen Bonner and they are the 
parents of one child, Cora J., who was born February 7, 1901. Mr. Charmley 
gives his allegiance to the democratic party but concentrates his attention upon 
the management of his farm and never seeks public office. He has applied his 
energies successfully to making the land productive and has won prosperity by 
the sure methods of hard and concentrated labor. 



James F. Burns is owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and sixteen 
acres on section 14, Fox Lake township, comprising an excellent tract of culti- 
vated and improved land, developed along modern and progressive lines. He 
has been identified with farming and stock-raising in Wisconsin during the entire 
period of his active career and has been the proprietor of his present property 
for thirty-eight years, gaining during the time a high place in agricultural circles 
and in the respect and esteem' of his fellow citizens. He was fifteen years of 
age when he came to Wisconsin, having been born in County Wicklow, in the 
Vale of Avoca, Ireland, April 29, 1840. He is a son of John F. and Catherine 
(Allen) Burns, natives of the Emerald isle, who came to America in 1849 and 
settled in Oneida county, New York, where they remained until October, 1855, 
when they came to Wisconsin, making the journey by rail to Watertown and 
overland from Watertown to Fox Lake. Here they settled upon four acres of 
land and the father worked in the woods and at various other occupations until 
his death which occurred on the 7th of October, 1883. His wife had died some 
years previously, her death having occurred on the 28th of July, 1865. Both 
arc buried in St. Mary's cemetery. 



JAMES F. BURNS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



395 



James F. Burns was the youngest of five children and he worked in the 
employ of his father until March, 1869. In that year he purchased the homestead 
upon which he resided until 1874, when he bought the tract of land which he 
now operates and which he has cultivated and improved since that time. The 
soil is rich and his land productive, owing to the care and labor which he bestows 
upon them. He has one hundred and fifty acres under the plow planted in 
grain and hay which he feeds to his fine herds of pure-bred Durham cattle and 
his Poland China hogs. He does general farming but specializes in stock-raising, 
breeding high-grade animals for the Wisconsin markets. He has put up all the 
buildings and improvements upon his place and by constant industry and intelli- 
gent labor has made his enterprise one of the model farms in Dodge county. 

On September 13, 1865, Mr. Burns was united in marriage to Miss Isabella 
O'Brien, a daughter of Terrence and Mary (McGinney) O'Brien, who were 
among the early settlers in Wisconsin. Mrs. Burns was the second in a family 
of five children and was born on the 4th of March, 1846. To our subject and 
his wife have been born eight children : John F., who resides at home ; Mary, 
who is married and lives at home; James and Robert, both of whom make their 
home with their parents; Catherine Bell, who is the wife of Joseph Hartel of 
Fox Lake, by whom she has one child; Gertrude; Jerome, who passed away at 
the age of seventeen years; and Esther, who married Matthew McDowell of 
Fox Lake. 

Mr. Burns gives allegiance to no particular political party, preferring to keep 
his independence of judgment. He votes for the man whom he considers best 
qualified for the position and is actively interested in local affairs, although he 
never seeks public office. He and his family are devout adherents of the Roman 
Catholic church. His life record illustrates the power of honesty and diligence 
in insuring success. His labors have always been active and constructive and 
intelligently carried forward and have resulted in placing him in the front rank 
of progressive farmers. 



LUMAN W. BROWN. 

Ltiman W. Brown owns a fine farm of one hundred and nineteen acres on 
section 11, Calamus township, constituting the land which his father obtained 
as a government claim in the early days of the settlement of the state of Wis- 
consin. It is now a highly improved and systematically developed tract, having 
rewarded the labor bestowed upon it by abundant and increasing harvests. Mr. 
Brown was born upon the property which he is now operating, October 2, 1858, 
and is a son of Milo and Betsy E. (Thompson) Brown. The father was a native 
of Tioga county, New York, born November 2, 182 1. He remained in that 
section until the early '40s, when he came to Wisconsin and took up government 
land in Dodge county. This he improved and operated and upon it he resided 
until his death in 1900. His wife was born in Litchfield, Massachusetts, in 
1813. She came to Beaver Dam in 1850 and in that city her marriage occurred 
on May 19, of the following year. She passed away in 1906. She and her 
husband became the parents of four children : Orlando, whose death occurred 



396 HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 

at Beaver Dam when he was twenty years of age; Orrin, who passed away at 
the age of six years; Alonzo, who died in childhood; and Luman W., of this 
review. 

Luman W. Brown was reared upon his father's farm and from an early date 
became acquainted with the best methods of agriculture. He has never left the 
homestead and is now active in its operation, carrying on general farming and 
stock-raising upon the property. The extensive improvements which he has 
made from time to time and his constantly progressive and successful methods 
have resulted in giving him rank among the substantial and representative agri- 
culturists of his native section. 

On March 2, 1881, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Addie J. 
Fisher and they are the parents of four children. Roy M., who is twenty-eight 
years of age, is married and resides at home. Edward, Chester and Mildred, 
aged respectively twenty-six, twenty-four and twenty-one years, are living at 
home. 

Mr. Brown gives his allegiance to the republican party, and is prominent in 
the affairs of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has been a farmer prac- 
tically all his life, having been identified with the tilling and cultivation of the 
soil since his early childhood. Prosperity has crowned his industry and well 
directed activity, making him one of the enterprising and prominent men of 
his district and a native son whose life record is a credit to his community. 



DEAN J. HOTCHKISS. 

Dean J. Hotchkiss is editor and proprietor of The Fox Lake Representative, 
an enterprise which his father founded in 1866, and he is head of one of the 
leading weekly newspapers in Dodge county. He has extended his activities 
beyond journalism into fields of municipal expansion. He was born on April 
22, i860, at Elkhorn and is a son of John and Carmelia (Fisher) Hotchkiss, the 
former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Vermont. Their marriage 
occurred in Randolph, New York, in 1855, and in the same year they came west 
to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where the father became a partner in the old Elkhorn 
Independent. He was an able and conscientious journalist and was successful 
in the conduct of this enterprise for five years when he moved to Sparta and 
established The Eagle in that city which he conducted for two years. He sold 
out at a profit and returned to Elkhorn, where shortly afterward he enlisted and 
served as a non-commissioned officer in the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, 
doing active work until he was discharged for disability in 1862. In the follow- 
ing year he became connected with his former newspaper The Sparta Eagle and 
in 1864 was publisher of The Delavan Patriot. In January, 1865, he reenlisted 
in the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Independent Volunteer Infantry, serving 
until the end of the war. In September, 1866, he came from Elkhorn to Fox 
Lake where he established the paper which his son is now conducting and ran 
it along the most modern and progressive journalistic lines. He died on June 
14, 1905, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His wife survived him until the 
31st of January, 191 1, being seventy-eight years old when she died. Both are 



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397 



buried in Fox Lake cemetery. The father of our subject was a prominent man 
in the affairs of the community in which he resided. He served several terms 
as president of Fox Lake village and was a well known member of the local post 
of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Dean J. Hotchkiss was the youngest in a family of three children. He was 
educated in the Dodge county public schools and later attended Downer College 
at Fox Lake for two years. When he laid aside his books he became associated 
with his father in newspaper work, learning the mechanical details of printing 
and becoming in a short time an able and enterprising journalist. In 1877 he 
became a partner with his father and the association lasted until 1880 when Mr. 
Hotchkiss went to Chicago where he spent five years. He worked at the printing 
trade for two years in Sparta but during all this time retained his interest in 
his father's newspaper. He was on the road as advance agent for the C. D. 
Hess Grand Opera Company for one season and in the following winter occupied 
the same position in the employ of Stanley, the African explorer, acting also in 
the interests of Ovide Musin, the Danish violinist. In 1890 he returned to Fox 
Lake and purchased his father's interest in The Fox lake Representative and is 
still publishing this paper. He has a circulation of one thousand subscribers, 
principally residents of Dodge county. As a journalist he is alert to every new 
development in city and country life, a keen thinker and a discriminating judge 
of men. The editorial pages of his paper are progressive and liberal in the 
measures which they advocate and representative of the most modern political 
and social ideas. The business end of the enterprise is ably and efficiently con- 
ducted, the advertising and circulation departments showing a gratifying increase 
in business every year. 

In 1881 Mr. Hotchkiss was united in marriage to Miss Edna Darrow, a 
daughter of Albert H. and Mary Jane (Clough) Darrow of Fond du Lac county. 
Mrs. Hotchkiss was born on June 24, i860, and remained at home until her 
marriage. She and her husband have two children: Genevieve, who married 
H. J. Masters of Sparta; and Mary, who is a graduate of Northwestern Uni- 
versity of Evanston, Illinois, and of the Comnock School of Oratory and who 
has fitted herself for teaching. 

In his political views Mr. Hotchkiss is a consistent republican, advocating 
the principles and policies of this party in his papers. He has served as post- 
master since 1904, having received his appointment in that year from Roosevelt 
and his reappointment from Taft. He and his family affiliate with the Con- 
gregational church of Fox Lake. He is a prominent Mason, holding member- 
ship in the lodge and chapter and is also active in the affairs of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, serving in that organization as patriarch. He belongs 
to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Equitable Fraternal Union. 
He is one of the foremost men in business, political and fraternal circles of Fox 
Lake and has gained gratifying prosperity by hard work and determination. He 
owns besides his beautiful residence the printing plant and several building lots 
fronting the lake and is a stockholder in the State Bank of Fox Lake and also 
in the local driving park. He has invested the money which he has acquired 
judiciously and he owns a thirty-acre fruit ranch in the Isle of Pines in the West 
Indies below Cuba, which is an important addition to his income. His two 
daughters belong to the Order of the Eastern Star in which organization his 



398 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



mother also held membership. His wife is well known in social circles of the 
city, being a prominent member of the Woman's Qub and secretary of the 
Woman's Home Missionary Union. She is a cultured and educated woman 
and as a member of the library board has done able and useful work. 

Mr. Hotchkiss is a man of varied interests and possesses the ability to make 
each one separately effective. His position as head of the leading weekly journal 
in Fox Lake gives him a place of power in the community of which his public 
spirit leads him to make capable and efficient use. His undoubted influence is 
always given to worthy and valuable causes and has been a factor in local 
improvement. He is well known and most favorably regarded in Fox Lake as 
a man who unites in his character business ability of a high order and repre- 
sentative qualities of citizenship. 



The village of Hustisford was named in honor of John Hustis, who visited 
this district in early pioneer times, long before Wisconsin had existence as a 
state. From that time forward he was more or less closely associated with 
the development and progress of this portion of the state. From that time 
forward he contributed in large measure to the work of development and improve- 
ment here and although at different times he maintained his home elsewhere, 
he yet retained an active connection with Hustisford and here passed away 
when he had almost reached the remarkable old age of ninety-seven years. He 
was born in Phillipstown, New York, on the 22d of October, 1810, and was a 
graduate of Yale University with the class of 1833. He also pursued a course 
in the Law School and in 1837 was admitted to the bar at New Haven, Con- 
necticut, while later he was also admitted to practice at Albany. He made 
his initial visit to Wisconsin in 1836, when he visited Milwaukee, then but a 
village, and the following year he took up his abode there, investing in real 
estate and engaging in business along that line for a short time. After remov- 
ing to Wisconsin he made occasional trips to what is now Hustisford and ulti- 
mately became the founder and promoter of the village. He spent his first night 
here on the 17th of August, 1837, — a date which he celebrated every year 
thereafter. 

In 1839 Mr. Hustis returned to New York and was united in marriage at 
Carmel, that state, to Miss Laura Ann Ludington, who was born in Kent, New 
York, on the 26th of January, 1814. He brought his bride back with him to 
Milwaukee and there they made their home until 1852. In the fall of that 
year they removed to Hustisford, where Mr. Hustis began the operation of a 
grist mill, after having previously operated a sawmill. In 1846 he built the 
dam across Rock river at Hustisford and it is still standing. He was the 
owner of a section of land on which the village was built and which remained 
in his possession for an extended period. In 1868 the family removed to 
Milwaukee but continued to also maintain a residence at Hustisford during 
the nineteen years of their connection with the former city, following which 
they returned to Dodge county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Hustis were born five 



JOHN HUSTIS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



401 



children, namely: Mary Elizabeth, who passed away in 1883; Josephine Lewisa, 
who is a resident of Milwaukee; Amelia Augusta, who died at the age of two 
years; Mrs. Florence L. Anthony; and Charles Joseph, who Was born on the 
6th of November, 1861, and died on the 12th of March, 1897. The death of 
Mr. Hustis occurred on the 19th of September, 1907, while his wife was called 
to her final rest on the 27th of December, 1900. He was one of Wisconsin's 
honored pioneers who left the deep impress of his individuality upon the history 
of the state. He refused to allow his name to be used in connection with the 
candidacy for the office of Wisconsin's first governor and thereafter refused all 
other offers of political preferment, not caring to enter public life. The village 
of Hustisford, which he founded, lacked but one vote of being made the state 
capital. It was Mr. Hustis who delivered the first 4th of July oration in Mil- 
waukee and, although declining office, he was ever a public-spirited citizen and 
one who took active and helpful part in promoting the welfare and upbuilding 
of his adopted state. His political allegiance was given to the republican party. 
In 1840 he built the first brick block in Milwaukee on the ground now occupied 
by the Senn building and he was register of canal lands there, appointed by the 
governor. His labors were indeed an effective force for general improvement 
in that city as well as in Dodge county and both Milwaukee and Hustisford felt 
honored to number this worthy and prominent pioneer among their citizens. 



RUDOLPH GUENTHER. 

Rudolph Guenther is numbered among the native sons of Dodge county and 
among the successful, energetic and enterprising farmers of Calamus township. 
Here he is cultivating a fine tract of land of two hundred and forty acres, gain- 
ing success as a general farmer by modern and systematic methods. He was 
born August 12, 1865, and is a son of Gustavus and Minnie (Kirchberg) Guen- 
ther, natives of Germany. The father was born in Baden in 1825 and came to 
America in 1846, settling on a farm in Calamus township. This property he 
cultivated and improved, built new barns and outbuildings and installed modern 
equipment, bringing his land to a high state of development. His wife was born 
fn Germany, June 22, 1830. and their marriage occurred in Watertown, Wis- 
consin, in 1849. They became the parents of fourteen children. Gustavus, born 
January 1, 1850, married Mary Gutgesell and they live at Brandon, Minnesota. 
Charles, born April 28, 1851, married Maggie Beam and they reside at Garfield, 
Minnesota. Lawrence, born September 10, 1852, married Minnie Ready and 
they live in Beaver Dam. Amelia, born August 26, 1854, married Robert Hanf 
and they reside in Floyd, Iowa. Albert, born December 25, 1855, married Sarah 
Croft and they reside in Calamus township, Wisconsin. Annie, born July 6, 
1857, married Theodore Young, of Beaver Dam. Christine, born September 2, 
1859, died on the 19th of September, 1880, and is buried in Cemetery No. 1 at 
Calamus. Leonard, born May 13, 1861, married Effie George and they reside 
at Alden, Minnesota. Henry, born June 30, 1863, married Clara Yanka on 
March 3, 1892, and her death occurred on September 15 of the same year. On 
November 7, 1894, he married Emma Altschwager and they are residing in 

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Calamus. Barney, bom August 23, 1867, was married to Rosa Bauman on 
October 26, 1891, and they are residents of Wausau. Mary, born March 8, 
1870, married Henry Herdrich on October 28, 1891, and they are making their 
home in Chicago. Frank, born May 24, 1872, passed away on April 21, 1874, 
and is buried in the cemetery at Calamus. Rose, born April 13, 1876, was mar- 
ried on September 23, 1896, to George Bonner, a resident of Calamus. 

Rudolph, our subject, was educated in the public schools of Calamus town- 
ship and has been identified with agricultural pursuits since his early childhood. 
He is now the owner of one of the finest farms in this section of the state, com- 
prising two hundred and forty acres of productive land, two hundred acres of 
which are under cultivation. Upon this he does general farming and specializes 
in raising all grades of cattle. He has made his enterprise successful by hard 
and continued labor, making practical application of the knowledge which he 
acquired by personal experience in his youth. 

On October 21, 1896, Mr. Guenther was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude 
Edgerton, a daughter of William and Helen (Martin) Edgerton, residents of 
Beaver Dam. The father was born in Rome, New York, December 5, 1830, 
and died in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, on the 5th of February, 1878. The mother 
was born in Westernville, New York, August 9, 1832, and died on February 
19, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Guenther are the parents of four children, all of whom 
reside at home : Jennie May, born September 23, 1897 ; Harry Rudolph, born 
August 19, 1899; Roy Howard, born February 23, 1903; and Oscar Clarence, 
born December 4, 1905. 

In his political views Mr. Guenther is a consistent democrat but takes no 
very active part in public affairs, preferring to devote his time entirely to agri- 
cultural pursuits. His methods are new and progressive and his business ability 
of a high order. Success has come to him as a natural result of intelligent labor 
along systematic lines and he is numbered among the substantial agriculturists 
of the county. 



WILLIAM H. MESSER. 

William H. Messer owns a well improved farm of one hundred and eight 
acres on section 24, Beaver Dam township, and is well known as a general agri- 
culturist and stock-raiser. He has been a resident of Wisconsin all his life and 
is widely and favorably known as one of the substantial and progressive resi- 
dents of Dodge county. He was born August 2, 1872, in Richfield township, 
Washington county, and is a son of John and Eva (Harlos) Messer, the former 
a native of Germany and the latter of Wisconsin. Their marriage occurred in 
Washington county and they lived in that section until 1883, when John Messer 
purchased land in Trenton township, Dodge county, where he cultivated the 
soil until his death, which occurred in 1900, when he was sixty years of age. 
His wife is still living and makes her home in Beaver Dam. She is now sixty- 
two years old. 

William H. Messer was the second in a family of eleven children. He was 
educated in the public schools of Dodge county and remained at home until he 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



was twenty-five years of age. In that year he established himself as an inde- 
pendent agriculturist, fanning his portion of the old homestead until 1910, when 
he sold his holdings and moved to the city of Beaver Dam. Here he resided 
until February, 1912, moving at that time upon his present property, which he 
has since operated. He does general farming and raises graded cattle and pure- 
bred Chester White and Poland China hogs. He also operates a dairy, milking 
nine cows and selling to a neighboring cheese factory. He has all of his land 
under cultivation and intelligently improved. He has his acres planted in hay 
and grain, which he sells in the Wisconsin markets. 

In 1898 Mr. Messer was united in marriage to Miss Emma G. Haase, a 
daughter of Charles and Wilhelmina (Wetzel) Haase, natives of Germany. The 
parents came to the United States about the year 1862 and settled in Dodge 
county, Wisconsin. The father purchased land in Trenton township and carried 
on general agricultural pursuits successfully until 1906, when he sold the property 
to his son and moved to the village of Fox Lake, where he is now living retired 
in his sixty-ninth year. Mrs. Messer is the fifth in a family of eight children 
and was born on the 6th of March, 1878. She and her husband have three 
children: Leona, born November 8, 1899; Lawrence, whose birth occurred on 
January 19, 1902; and Ralph, born October 9, 1905. 

In his political views Mr. Messer is a consistent republican and has served 
on the board of supervisors for Trenton township. He and his family are 
members of St. Steven's Lutheran church of Beaver Dam. During the fifteen 
years in which he has been an independent agriculturist Mr. Messer has taken an 
active and helpful, part in the work of improvement and progress which has 
been carried forward along his special line .of activity. He has directed his own 
career so successfully that he is today classed among the prominent farmers of 
Dodge county and has made his progressive and systematic labors the basis of 
distinct prosperity. 



JOHN W. HUGHES. 

John W. Hughes is carrying on general farming and stock-raising upon one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in Calamus township, constituting his home- 
stead, and by practical methods and well directed energy is bringing the enter- 
prise to a gratifying degree of success. He is well known in this section where 
he has been a resident since he was a boy of fourteen and where he has been 
identified with progressive farming for many years. He was born January 1, 
1844, in Angleshirc, North Wales, and is a son of William J. and Ellen (Wil- 
liams) Hughes, natives of that country. The father was born in 1799 and came 
to America in 1858, settling immediately on a farm in Calamus township, where 
the subject of this sketch now resides. He operated the enterprise successfully 
until his death, which occurred on February 22, 1871.' His wife was born in 
1812 and their marriage occurred in Wales in 1840. They became the parents 
of two children: Margaret, who was born in Wales in 1841 and who died there 
at the age of three years; and John W., the subject of this sketch. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



John W. Hughes was fourteen years of age when he settled upon his farm 
in Calamus township and he has resided in this section since that time. He 
early became acquainted with the details of modern agriculture by personal 
experience in assisting his father. He took care of his parents in their declining 
years and upon the death of William Hughes inherited the property, which he 
has since operated and improved. His land comprises one hundred and sixty 
acres, one hundred and forty of which are under cultivation. He raises cattle 
of all grades and specializes in the breeding of Poland China hogs. He is a 
hard and steady worker with a long experience in the best and most practical 
farming methods and he has by industry and well directed activity made his 
land productive to its fullest extent, gaining for himself a distinct place in 
agricultural circles. 

In 1872 Mr. Hughes was united in marriage to Miss Jane Jones, a daughter 
of William R. and Elizabeth Jones, of Calamus, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hughes became the parents of five children: Nellie, who was born June 24, 
1874, and who married John Johnston, of Calamus; William, who was born 
July 16, 1876, and who lives at home; Daniel, of Calamus, who was born May 
8, 1879, and who married Emma Henning; Elizabeth, who was born October 
31, 1882, and who married William Bachmann, their home being in Elba town- 
ship, Dodge county; and Roland, who was born October 14, 1886. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Hughes is a consistent republican but beyond 
casting his vote at each election takes no active part in public affairs. He keeps 
himself abreast of modern agricultural advancement by his identification with 
the Wisconsin Agricultural Association. He has achieved his success by hard 
work and industry and by his thoroughly practical business qualifications, and 
his fine farm, intelligently operated and highly productive, stands as an evidence 
of the value of his activity. 



Herman H. Butterbrodt is a native son of Dodge county and is carrying on 
prosperous and progressive general farming upon seventy-three acres of land 
on sections 23 and 26, Beaver Dam township, following the most modern and 
systematic principles, and making his individual prosperity count as a public 
resource. He was born in the township in whichhe is now residing on June 7, 
1876, and is a son of August and Minnie (Koemg) Butterbrodt, natives of Ger- 
many. They were reared and educated in the fatherland and their marriage 
occurred in that country. They came to America about the year 1864, settling 
immediately in Dodge county, where the father purchased land upon which he 
is living today. 

Herman H. Butterbrodt was the ninth in a family of ten children. He was 
reared at home and educated in the district schools of Dodge county. During 
his boyhood he was actively connected with the minor duties of his father's 
enterprise learning thus at an early date the best and most practical methods of 
agriculture. He remained at home until he was twenty-eight years of age and 
then commenced independent life for himself, operating the place upon which 



HERMAN H. BUTTERBRODT. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



405 



he now resides. He does general farming and is interested in stock-raising, 
making a specialty of breeding pure-blooded Berkshire hogs. He feeds his stock 
upon the hay which he raises in his fields but markets his barley and oats. He 
operates a modern and sanitary dairy, milking from eight to ten cows and selling 
the products of this branch of his enterprise to the neighboring cheese factory. 
He has made extensive improvements upon his property, has fenced his fields, 
built granaries, silos and other outbuildings. In 1906 he erected a fine barn 
twenty-eight feet wide by fifty-eight feet long, with cement floors and patent 
stanchions and equipped with modern accessories. The residence in which he 
lives he erected in 1904 making it up-to-date in every particular. It is heated 
by furnace and supplied with pure water from a well drilled upon the premises. 

In 1906 Mr. Butterbrodt was united in marriage to Miss Jennie McMillan, 
a daughter, of Alexander and Louisa (Zeiske) McMillan, natives of Wisconsin. 
Her father was of Scotch ancestory and her mother of German descent. They 
were married in Beaver Dam and are living today in Westford township, where 
the father follows general farming. He is well known in the section in which 
he lives and is an honored veteran of the Civil war. Mrs. Butterbrodt was the 
third in a family of eleven children and was born on March 24, 1886. She and 
her husband have one son, Dallas A., born January 10, 191 1. 

In politics Mr. Butterbrodt keeps himself entirely independent of lines arid 
parties, voting according to his personal convictions. He was a member of the 
school board for three years and served for one year as clerk of that body. He 
and his wife attend the Assembly Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Butter- 
brodt is a member. He has kept abreast of the steady advancement which agri- 
culture has made along systematic and scientific lines. He has added personal 
experience to his knowledge and his industry and intelligence have been rewarded 
by a beautiful tract of land every acre of which is brought to its highest point 
of productiveness. 



W. W. WILLIAMS. 

W. W. Williams owns a one hundred and sixty-acre farm in Calamus town- 
ship upon which he has lived since childhood and upon this property he is carry- 
ing on general farming and stock-raising and meeting with a success which is 
the natural result'of his industry and diligence. He is a native of Wales, having 
been born in Carnarvon, on March 15, 1835, and he came to this country with 
his parents when he was ten years of age. They settled in 1845 m Calamus 
township upon the tract of land which Mr. Williams is now operating. Here 
the subject of this sketch grew to manhood. He received his education in the 
district schools and when not engaged with his books aided his father in the 
work of improvement and development, gaining thus a specialized knowledge of 
practical details of farming. His property now comprises one hundred and 
sixty acres, one hundred and forty-five of which are under cultivation. He 
carries on general farming and specializes in the breeding and raising of all 
grades of hogs and has been very successful with his Duroc Jersey breed. He 
brings to his activities aiong agricultural lines personal experience which is an 



406 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



important factor in his success. His soil is fertile and productive and he gathers 
rich harvests each year as a reward for the intelligent care and labor which he 
bestows upon his place. 

On June 1, 1860, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Jones, 
who was born in Wales, in November, 1835. She is a daughter of Henry and 
Elizabeth Jones, who came to America in 1845 and has lived since her childhood 
in Calamus township. She and her husband became the parents of seven chil- 
dren, two of whom died in infancy and are buried in Bethel cemetery. The 
surviving members are: John, who was born August 9, 1861, and who married 
Miss Kate Hughes of Elba township, and is residing in Oshkosh; Henry J. f 
whose birth occurred August 20, 1864, and who lives at home; Mary E., born 
June 23, 1868, who married O. E. Griffiths, by whom she has four children, 
Howell, Ann, Ellen and Dorothy; William C, who was born October 30, 1870, 
and who married Miss Elsie Preston of DePere, with whom he is residing in 
Green Bay, where he is employed as telegraph operator, by the Chicago & North- 
western Railroad ; and Robert E., who was born on February 26, 1877, and who 
lives at home. 

Mr. Williams is a devout adherent of the Calvinistic Methodist religion and 
serves as deacon in Bethel church of Calamus township. He has sought no 
success beyond prosperity as an agriculturist. He is well versed in the details 
of farming and is always guided in his business relations by keen and discrim- 
inating judgment. His property is highly developed and richly productive and 
is improved to its highest point, paying tribute to his care and skill. Its con- 
dition ranks him as'an individual force in the growth and upbuilding of a great 
farming section. 



SAMUEL C. KELLER. 

One of the most enterprising and successful of the many practical, efficient 
and progressive farmers who are making Dodge county a fertile and productive 
section is Samuel C. Keller, now farming one hundred and sixty acres of land 
in Beaver Dam township, constituting his homestead, and meeting with a measure 
of success which has been continuous since the beginning of his agricultural 
career. He was born in the section where he now resides on October 29, 1885, 
and is a son of John and Margaret (Keil) Keller, the former a native of Ger- 
many and the latter of Pennsylvania. They moved to Dodge county after their 
marriage and are both living today in Trenton township. 

Samuel C. Keller is the third of eight children born to his parents. He was 
educated in the district schools of Dodge county and remained at home until 
his marriage which occurred in 1907. He then moved upon his present property 
where he carries on general farming, stock-raising and dairying. He has most 
of his acres planted in hay and grain which he feeds to his fine herd of graded 
Shorthorn and Holstein cattle and his pure-bred Duroc Jersey hogs. His farm 
is ideally equipped for dairy and stock-raising purposes, being supplied with pure 
water from a drilled well. There are many fine barns and outbuildings all of 
which were erected before Mr. Keller took charge of the property, by one or 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



another of his ancestors. He has his fields conveniently fenced with barbed 
wire and his farm is in all respects a modern and up-to-date enterprise. He 
specializes in the operation of his dairy, keeping this branch of his establishment 
clean and sanitary. He milks on an average of fifteen cows and supplies the 
neighboring creameries and cheese factories with milk of a high quality. 

In 1907 Mr. Keller was united in marriage to Miss Alvina Bayer, a daughter 
of Francis M. and Jane Elizabeth (Keys) Bayer, natives of Burnett township. 
Mrs. Keller's grandparents on her father's side were natives of Germany and 
her maternal grandparents were of English and French descent. Her father 
and mother were married in Waupun and are today living in Beaver Dam. They 
had five children, of whom Mrs. Keller is the second in order of birth, her natal 
day being February 28, 1888. She and her husband have one daughter, Doris 
Jane, who was born May 8, 1908. 

In his political views Mr. Keller is a consistent democrat, but is not unusually 
active in local affairs, preferring to devote his time to the conduct of his important 
agricultural enterprise. He and his wife are members of the German Lutheran 
church of Beaver Dam. He is an intelligent and efficient farmer, interested in 
his work and desirous of improving it and although he is still a young man he 
has added something year by year to his own prosperity and to the methods of 
practical and productive agriculture. 



JOHN T. EVANS. 

One hundred and twenty acres of land in Calamus township, well improved 
and intelligently cultivated, is the contribution which John T. Evans has made 
to the agricultural development of his native section. His farm is situated on 
section 16, and is one of the attractive properties of the township. Mr. Evans 
is well and favorably known in this part of the state where he was born No- 
vember 25, 1873. His father was a native of Wales and was left an orphan 
in his early childhood. In 1839 when he was twelve years old he crossed the 
Atlantic with an older sister and settled in Elba township, where he grew to 
manhood. After he had attained his majority he was employed as a stage driver 
between Madison and Green Bay and followed this occupation for five years. 
On May 25, 1855, he married Miss Annie Prichard, a daughter of William J. 
Prichard of Elba township and immediately afterward located on the farm where 
his son is now residing. Upon this property he carried on successful general 
farming until 1904, when he retired from active life and moved to May wood, 
Illinois, where he now makes his home with his daughter. His wife passed 
away in 1886 and is buried in Bethel cemetery in Elba township. They became 
the parents of eight children: Mary, whose birth occurred on March 12, 1856, 
and who died in 1874 and is buried in Bethel cemetery; Thomas, who was born 
on February 28, 1858, and who died in 1864; Ellen J., whose birth occurred on 
the 22d of February, i860; and who married Ellis E. Jones of West Pullman, 
Illinois; Margaret, whose birth occurred on the 8th of November, 1862, and 
who became the wife of Edmund Pritchard of Maywood, Illinois; William H., 
who was born on the 7th of September, 1865, and who married Miss Sergina 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Servison, and is residing in Spokane, Washington; Annie J., whose birth 
occurred on the 9th of January, 1868, and who became the wife of R. M. Owens, 
of Randolph ; John T., the subject of this sketch ; and Robert R., who was born 
on June 25, 1875, and who married Louisa Gadson of Beaver Dam. 

John T. Evans was educated in the public schools of Dodge county and his 
entire life has been spent upon his father's farm. He aided in the minor duties 
in his boyhood and after he had reached maturity became active in every depart- 
ment of general agriculture. He and his father made all the improvements upon 
the property and owing to their efforts it is one of the finest tracts of land in 
this section of the state. It comprises one hundred and twenty acres, one hun- 
dred and five of which are tillable and upon this he carries on general farming, 
following progressive and modern methods. He specializes in the breeding and 
raising of cattle of all grades and is known throughout Calamus township as an 
expert judge of stock. 

Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Laura Thiede, a daughter of 
Charles Thiede of Calamus township and they became the parents of one son, 
Arthur Robert, who was born on May 11, 1906, and who lives at home. Mr. 
Evans is numbered among the progressive and representative farmers of the sec- 
tion in which he lives. His property is intelligently operated and responds to 
his careful supervision and practical methods. 



Sidney M. Randall, who owns and operates a farm of ninety acres in Chester 
township, makes a specialty of dairying and has some of the best stock in this 
part of the state. His birth occurred in Hustisford, Dodge county, on the 12th 
of May, 1859, his parents being Barber B. and Mary (Clafing) Randall. The 
father, a native of New York and an agriculturist by occupation, came to Wis- 
consin in early manhood and settled near Hustisford, this county, on a tract of 
land which he purchased from the government. As the years passed he augmented 
his holdings by additional purchase until at one time he owned eight or nine 
hundred acres. He also owned an orange grove in Florida and spent the winter 
seasons in that state, where he passed away. It was near Hustisford, in this 
county, that he wedded Miss Mary Clafing, by whom he had six children, as 
follows: Charles, who is a resident of Minnesota; Sidney M., of this review; 
Ernest, living at Hustisford, Wisconsin ; Walter and Lucettie, both of whom are 
deceased; and Frank, living in Minnesota. By a former marriage Mr. Randall 
had two children, namely: Myron, who is a resident of Minnesota; and Albert, 
deceased. The father was married a third time and the three children of that 
union were as follows: Belle and Barber, both of whom are deceased; and 
Estelle, who is the wife of Charles Friday. 

Sidney M. Randall attended the schools of Hustisford in the acquirement 
of an education and subsequently worked on the home farm with his father 
until the latter's demise. lie remained on the old homestead for two years 
longer or until the time of his marriage and then purchased and located upon a 
farm of one hundred acres in Chester township. He has since sold ten acres of 



SIDNEY M. RANDALL. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



409 



the place and this tract is now occupied by the state asylum. Mr. Randall makes 
a specialty of dairying and has about forty head of pure-bred Holstein cattle, 
owning some of the best stock in this part of the state. His cattle have been 
exhibited at a number of fairs. 

On the 26th of March, 1891, Mr. Randall was united in marriage to Miss 
Elizabeth Goodyear, her parents being John and Christian Goodyear, the former 
a native of Washington county, Wisconsin, and the latter of Germany. The 
mother of Mrs. Randall was but a child when she came to the United States with 
her parents, who settled near Lebanon, Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Randall 
have been born four children, namely : Charles Mitchell, whose birth occurred 
on the 9th of August, 1895 ; Genevieve Adele, whose natal day was October 7, 
1897; Georgiana, deceased; and Eva Elizabeth, born January 5, 1902. In his 
political views Mr. Randall is a stanch republican. He is widely known in Dodge 
county, where he enjoys the respect and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances, 
the majority of whom have known him since early boyhood 



OTTO A. GEHRKE. 

Otto A. Gehrke, who for five years has been identified with the printing 
and newspaper interests of Mayville, was born in Fieritz, province of Pomerania, 
Germany, on the 6th of August, 1879. He is a son of William and Wilhclmina 
(Nack) Gehrke, who emigrated to the United States with their family in 1882. 
They came direct to Dodge county, locating in Mayville, where the mother 
passed away in 1893. The father is still living and is now employed in the 
Northwestern Iron Company. Our subject is the eldest of six children born 
to his parents. 

Otto A. Gehrke was only three years of age when he accompanied his parents 
on their removal to the United States. Practically his entire life has been passed 
in Mayville, his education being acquired in the German parochial and public 
schools. When old enough to decide upon a vocation he decided to learn the 
printer's trade, and entered the office of the Dodge County Pioneer, where he 
remained for seven years. He next took a position as accountant in the office 
of the Northwestern Iron Company, remaining there until 1900. In the latter 
year he resigned his position in order to accept the management of the Martin 
Luther Printing Company of Boston, Massachusetts. He was the head of this 
enterprise until 1907 and in Au?ust of that year he returned to Mayville and 
purchased the printing establishment founded by Henry Spicring, at one time 
proprietor of the Dodge County Pioneer. Together with four others he has 
profitably conducted this plant for five years. The paper, which has always 
been an English publication, was founded in 1890 by Mr. Spiering and is issued 
on Thursday of each week. Its circulating list carries six hundred names. 

On the 23d of May, 1004, Mr. Gehrke was united in marriage to Miss Marie 
Wilhelm, a daughter of G. and M. (Meyer) Wilhelm, both of whom are de- 
ceased, the mother having passed away in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Gehrke have three 
children: Leo, who was born during their residence in Boston; and Esther and 
Hugo, who are natives of Mayville. 



410 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. and Mrs. Gehrke are members of St. John's Lutheran church and are 
rearing their children in the faith of that denomination. He is a diligent and 
enterprising young man of laudable ambition and more than average business 
ability as is being evidenced by the development of his interests. 



Joseph T. Snyder is operating a fine farm of three hundred and twenty 
acres on section 28, Beaver Dam township and has two hundred and twenty- 
five acres under cultivation. He is a substantial, modern and progressive farmer, 
interested in each new development in agriculture and his property is well 
equipped, highly cultivated and in excellent condition. He is well known, in this 
district, having been a resident since he was fifteen years of age and is influen- 
tial in agricultural circles because he has cultivated the soil continuously since 
1859, with the exception of five years spent in the Beaver Dam Woolen Mills. 
He was born in Norwich, Ontario, Canada, November 19, 1844, and is a son of 
Elias and Elizabeth (McLees) Snyder, natives of Dutchess county, New York. 
Their marriage occurred in Ontario and they lived and died in Canada. 

Joseph T. Snyder is the eighth in a family of nine children. He completed 
an education begun in Canada in the public schools of Wisconsin and in Way- 
land Academy at Beaver Dam. His residence in Dodge county dates from 
1859, when he joined his brother in this section. He spent nine years in Illinois 
after completing his education, farming independently, but returned to Beaver 
Dam at the end of that time. He obtained a position as clerk in the office of the 
woolen mills of this city and after five years of this occupation moved upon the 
farm which he is now operating and has maintained a continuous residence upon 
his property since that time. He carries on general farming and has been suc- 
cessful because he has always adhered to systematic methods, his expert knowl- 
edge and long experience being factors in his prosperity. 

Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to Miss Mary Esther Shaw, a daughter 
of Alexander A. and Ann D. (Close) Shaw, natives of Cayuga county, New 
York. Her father came to Wisconsin about the year 1842 and was among the 
very earliest settlers in the state. He took up a tract of one hundred and sixty 
acres of government land for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents an 
acre. He settled within the present city limits of Beaver Dam which was called 
at that time Grubbville. He improved and operated his property and also fol- 
lowed his trade of surveyor, doing work of this kind in all parts of the state. 
He made extensive improvements upon his farm, built barns, outbuildings and a 
comfortable residence and here he remained until his death which occurred in 
1851. His wife later married Moses E. Stevens, who passed away in 1882. Mrs. 
Stevens survived her husband until January 3, 1911. 

Mrs. Snyder is the eldest of three children and was born on December 23, 
1846. She and her husband became the parents of two sons and one daughter. 
The eldest, William, is married and is making his home with our subject. He is 
a graduate of the Beaver Dam high school and from his early youth has been 
intensely interested in natural history. He has made a special study of this 



JOSEPH T. SNYDER. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



411 



science and has made a collection of birds, animals, and insects and Indian relics, 
which is one of the finest in this section of the state. He accompanied Mr. 
Mcllheny upon an eighteen months' expedition into Alaska, traveling in the 
interests of the University of Pennsylvania and the Smithsonian Institution. The 
party started upon, their journey before the outbreak of the Spanish- American 
war and hostilities had ceased before their return. They were so cut off from 
civilization that no rumor of the conflict reached them until their arrival in 
Wisconsin. They encountered many hardships and dangers, traveling on a sail- 
ing vessel, the Jeanne, the largest of a fleet of nine boats of the same kind. 
The expedition was nearly lost but was rescued by a government relief squad 
under the command of Lieutenant Jarvis, who traveled overland, driving reindeer 
and reached the party when they had only three days' rations left. The second 
child born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder is Clara, a bookkeeper in a Beaver Dam 
business office. Their youngest son was Charles S., who died in childhood. 

Mr. Snyder gives his political allegiance to the republican party but although 
he is intelligently interested in public affairs never seeks office, preferring to 
devote his entire time to farming. He is prominent in the Masonic order, holding 
membership in the chapter and council. His son William, also affiliated with 
this organization and is past master of his lodge. Both are members of the 
Royal Arcanum. 

Mr. Snyder is recognized as one of the substantial and representative farmers 
and stock-raisers in Dodge county. He is practical in his methods, specializing 
in feeding and fattening hogs which he sells in the Wisconsin markets. He 
has many acres of his land planted in suitable grains and is also extensively 
interested in the operation of his modern and sanitary dairy. He keeps for 
this purpose a fine herd of cows, selling his product to the Beaver Dam Creamery. 
He is an expert judge of graded Shorthorn cattle and deals in these animals. 
In all his business relations he is thoroughly reliable and straightforward, mani- 
festing that progressive spirit which is making modern farming a different and 
more scientific occupation. 



NELSON BONNER. 

Nelson Bonner owns and operates one of the finest farms in Dodge county, 
comprising one hundred and eighty acres of excellent land on sections 13 and 24, 
Westford township, which was his father's original purchase upon arriving in 
this district in pioneer times. Mr. Bonner has been engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits since the beginning of his active career and is distinctly successful, his 
energy and enterprise having been rewarded every year by crops of a fine quality. 
He is recognized as one of the leading farmers in Westford township where he 
has resided since his birth and has based his prosperity upon intelligently directed 
activity and progressive methods. He was born on the farm which he now 
operates, March 11, 1875, a son of John and Elizabeth Ann (Graham) Bonner, 
natives of England. The father was born in Lincolnshire, April 27, 1822, and 
came to America in 1853. He made the journey alone and settled immediately 
in Milwaukee and after establishing his home he sent for his parents and his 



412 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



brothers and sisters, who joined him in this city some time afterward. In 
Milwaukee the father of our subject worked in the employ of Mr. Layton, as a 
butcher and after a short period in this line of work came to Westford town- 
ship where he purchased land. He gradually improved this property, built a 
barn, and outbuildings and brought it to a high state of cultivation. When he 
retired from active life he moved to Fox Lake, where he died May 5, 1906. 
He was among the earliest pioneers in Dodge county and was fond of relating 
his experiences on first coming to Westford township. In those days he hauled 
his wheat to the Milwaukee markets, a distance of seventy-five miles and could 
sometimes find a sale for it and sometimes not. In one instance he traded a 
load of wheat for an overcoat and often sold large amounts of this grain for 
barely enough to pay his expenses on the return journey. He made these trips 
profitable, however, by bringing back groceries and dry-goods which he sold to the 
merchants of Beaver Dam. John Bonner, the father of our subject married 
September 29, 1857, Miss Elizabeth Ann Graham, who was born in London, 
April 30, 1834, and who came to America in 1855. Her father had served in the 
British army and one of her brothers was also a member of the English forces 
at the time of the Crimean war and was killed at the battle of Balaklava. Her 
father died in London and Mrs. Bonner made the journey to America with her 
uncle. Samuel Graham, and his wife. . They settled near Randolph, Wisconsin, 
but afterward moved to Nebraska where Mr. Graham passed away, May 26, 
191 2. He is buried in the Fox Lake cemetery. After John Bonner came to 
America his parents, Thomas and Betsy Bonner, and his brothers and sisters, 
settled near him in Westford township and here his father and mother passed 
away and are buried in the Westford cemetery, just south of the homestead. 
In their family were eight children. John, the eldest son was the father of our 
subject. James was born in 1824 and married Jane King, of Fox Lake, Wiscon- 
sin. They lived in Westford for a number of years and in that section James 
Bonner died, April 2, 1911. He is buried at Fox Lake. The two next in the 
order of birth died in infancy. Next was a daughter, Jane, who was born in Eng- 
land, and married John Prescott. She has also passed away and is buried in 
Westford cemetery. Anna and George, twins, were born in 1834 and George 
died some time afterward and is buried in cemetery No. 1, Calamus township. 
Anna married William Croft and lives in Beaver Dam. Samuel was born June 
6, 1836, and married Miss Elizabeth Evans, June 14, 1863. He lived in West- 
ford township until his death which occurred December 20, 1908, and he is 
buried in the Beaver Dam cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. John Bonner became the 
parents of seven children. Albert was born September 18, 1858, grew to matur- 
ity and married and passed away August 21, 1879. He is buried in the Fox 
Lake cemetery. Robert Thomas, who was born October 20, i860, married 
Miss Abbie Stone, February 28, 1900, and lives in Antigo. Victoria was born 
February 18, 1863, and died November 24, 1879. She is buried in Waushara 
cemetery at Fox Lake. Marmaduke was born January 10, 1865, and married 
Nellie Peverly and lives in Los Angeles, California. William was born April 
18, 1868, and died May 9, 1873, and is buried in Fox Lake cemetery. Orrin 
was born November 3, 1871, and died September 13, 1872. He also is buried at 
Fox Lake. The youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. John Bonner is Nelson, 
the subject of this sketch. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



413 



Nelson Bonner was educated in the public schools of his native section and 
spent his childhood upon his father's farm. He is now operating the home- 
stead, comprising one hundred and eighty acres of land, one hundred and fifty- 
five of which are tillable. Upon this he carries on general agricultural pursuits 
and also raises cattle of all grades. His farm is one of the finest in Dodge 
county, intelligently improved and equipped with all modern conveniences and 
accessories, its excellent condition ranking its operator among the representa- 
tive and substantia] farmers of his district. 

On April 8, 1902, Mr. Bonner was united in marriage to Miss Adella Klei- 
foth, a daughter of William Kleifoth, of Mayville. Mrs. Bonner's grandmother, 
Anna Humbach, was bom in Germany in 1827, and came to America in 1850, 
settling in the village of Theresa and later in Mayville. Afterward she spent two 
years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then returned to Theresa, moving to Madison, 
Wisconsin, in 1910, where she is still residing. After the marriage of Mr. and 
Mrs. Nelson Bonner they came to live on the Bonner homestead where they 
have resided since that time. They have four children: John Thomas, who was 
born January 31, 1903, and who lives at home; Nelson Alfred, whose birth 
occurred June II, 1905, and who is also with his parents; Richard Charles, 
who was born January 15, 1908, and who lives at home; and Beatrice Leona, 
whose birth occurred on the 1st of March, 1909. 

Mr. Bonner gives his allegiance to the republican party but he has never been 
active as an office seeker. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and of the Tribe of Ben Hur and is well known in fraternal circles of his dis- 
trict. He stands today as a representative of all that is progressive, efficient 
and systematic in modern agriculture. His fine farm is intelligently managed, 
thoroughly equipped and flourishing, and operated along the most up-to-date 
lines. His methods have won their natural success and he is justly entitled to 
the prosperity which has come to him and which entitles him to a place among 
the men who are raising the standards of agriculture in Dodge county. 



JAMES DERIVAN. 

James Derivan, who devotes his attention to the pursuits of general farm- 
ing and stock-raising, is the owner of a highly improved and model farm of 
one hundred and five acres on section 6, Trenton township. His birth occurred 
in that township on the 30th of November, 1867, his parents being John and 
Margaret (Markey) Derivan, both of whom were natives of Ireland and came 
to this country in early life. The father accompanied his parents on their 
emigration to the United States in 1847, the family home being established in 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, and here he subsequently purchased government land. 
In 1854 the mother of our subject came to the United States with her mother 
to join her father, who had crossed the Atlantic a few years before and had 
established a home in Dodge county. John Derivan and Margaret Markey 
were married here and began their domestic life on a farm in Trenton township, 
where they continued to reside until death claimed them. Mr. Derivan passed 
away in 1889. at the age of sixty years, while his wife died in 1892, when fifty- 



414 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



eight years of age. Their remains were interred in St. Mary's cemetery, in 
Trenton township. John Derivan was a resident of Dodge county for more than 
four decades and gained an extensive circle of friends here by reason of his 
upright and honorable life. 

James Derivan, who was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine 
children and was a young man of twenty-two years at the time of his father's 
demise, purchased the interest of the other heirs in the homestead farm and 
has always remained thereon. He is engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising and makes a specialty of the raising of pure bred Poland China hogs, 
having more than one hundred head at the present time. He also has about fif- 
teen head of high-grade Holstein cows and sells milk to the creamery. All of 
his land is tillable and he feeds all his hay and grain. As a stockman he breeds 
Percheron horses. In 1895 he erected a barn, thirty-two by fifty-six feet, with 
cement floors and other modern features. In 1910 he erected an attractive and 
up-to-date residence with all modern improvements, including acetylene lights, 
water heating arrangements and air pressure. Water for all purposes is sup- 
plied from drilled wells. In all branches of his business he has been most suc- 
cessful, for he has carried on his affairs in a careful, systematic and methodical 
manner, while at the same time he has not been lacking in that spirit of progress 
which is manifest in agricultural circles at the present time. 

On the 26th of November, 1902, Mr. Derivan was united in marriage to 
Miss Alice White, who was born on the 7th of July, 1875, and was the second 
in order of birth in a family of three children. Her father died when she was 
but a child and her mother afterward became the wife of W. F. Halstead, of 
Dodge county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Halstead are still living here. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Derivan have been born two children, the elder dying in infancy. The 
other is Claude Francis, whose birth occurred on the 13th of January, 1906. 

In politics Mr. Derivan is a democrat and at present holds the office of town- 
ship treasurer, discharging the duties of that position in a commendable and 
efficient manner. Fraternally he is identified with the Catholic Order of 
Foresters and is now and for the past ten years has been chief ranger of the 
local court. He and his wife are devout communicants of St. Mary's Catholic 
church at Fox Lake. His many excellent traits of character have won him an 
extensive circle of friends and he is well known and highly esteemed throughout 
the county in which his entire life has been spent. 



GOTTHARD F. BATSCH. 

Progress and enterprise as elements in his farming methods have rewarded 
Gotthard F. Batsch by agricultural success of a substantial kind. He is culti- 
vating one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 36, Burnett township, 
which by careful and systematic work he has made into a model, present-day 
farm. He was born in Mayville, September 19, 1856, and is a son of Frederick 
and Carolina (Werner) Batsch, natives of Schlesien. Germany. They came to 
America in 1854 and located immediately in Mayville. where they resided for 
ten years, later moving to Horicon. 



Digitized by Google 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



415 



Gotthard F. Batsch is second in a family of five children. He received his 
education in the country schools and in the public schools of Horicon. He 
remained at home all his life and has been engaged in farming during the entire 
period, although for eighteen seasons he extended his activities to include thresh- 
ing, operating a threshing outfit in conjunction with agricultural pursuits. He is 
now the owner of one hundred and twenty acres on section 36, Burnett township, 
and is a successful and prosperous man. His land is entirely enclosed with 
strong fences and has natural drainage. It is a fine piece of property, rich and 
productive, and its natural advantages have been conserved and utilized by intelli- 
gent methods of operation. Mr. Batsch makes a specialty of stock, raising high- 
grade Holstein cattle for dairy purposes and Poland China hogs for the local 
markets. He believes in up-to-date farm buildings and has erected upon his prop- 
erty a fine barn, thirty feet by sixty feet, two tool sheds, a woodshed and a pig 
sty, the latter being sixteen feet by twenty-five feet. He resides in a com- 
fortable and pleasant eight-room house which he erected and equipped with all 
modern comforts and conveniences. He is not only an enterprising and success- 
ful farmer but an able and progressive citizen. 

Mr. Batsch was married on April 10, 1894, to Miss Louise Schwahn, a daugh- 
ter of 'August and Johanne (Michael) Schwahn, residents of Dodge county. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Batsch were born seven children : Delia, who is attending the 
Horicon high school ; Arthur, who died at the age of four months and eight days ; 
Metha, whose death occurred when she was a year and two months old ; Selma, 
who died at the age of ten years, two months and twenty-five days ; and Hilda, 
Arnold and Walter, all at home. 

In politics Mr. Batsch keeps himself independent of fines and parties, voting 
for the man whom he considers best fitted for the office, and has served for three 
years as pathmaster of Horicon. He is a stockholder in the Union Dairy Com- 
pany, and he and his family affiliate with the German Lutheran church. His 
individual labors are important in agricultural development because his private 
prosperity has its source in standards of life and activity which have a universal 
acceptance. 



MRS. REBECCA EVANS. 

Great and well deserved credit is given to the pioneers in Wisconsin who in 
the early days of the settlement of the state faced hardships, privations and 
arduous labor in the clearing and development of the land and who wrested from 
a wilderness fertile and productive farms. Very little, however, is heard of the 
wives of these men — the pioneer women who ably supplemented their husbands' 
labors in the fields by almost unending work in the home and dairy. They also 
faced the hardships and endured the privations and are entitled to equal credit 
for the result. Prominent among women of this class in Dodge county is Mrs. 
Rebecca Evans, the widow of David Evans, one of the early settlers in this sec- 
tion. Mrs. Evans was born in England in 1850, her maiden name being Rebecca 
Marden. She was an infant when she was brought to America by her parents, 
who settled in Auburn, New York. A short time afterward, however, they came 



416 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



to Wisconsin and took up their residence near Fox Lake, where Mrs. Evans 
remained until her marriage in 1880. She wedded David Evans, of Westford, 
Wisconsin, and after their marriage went to live upon his farm in Westford 
township. During his life Mr. Evans was one of the most prosperous and suc- 
cessful general agriculturists in this section and did much hy his work and efforts 
to promote the general progress. He was born in Wales in 1832 and as a young 
man came to Wisconsin, settling in Westford, where he bought land. For a short 
time he lived with his cousin at Lake Emily, Wisconsin, but afterward moved 
upon his farm, which he cleared of timber and developed and improved along 
progressive lines. This property he afterward sold and took up his residence 
upon a farm near Beaver Dam Lake in Westford township. He was twice mar- 
ried, his first wife being Miss Elizabeth King, of Fox Lake, who died in 1873 
and is buried in that, city. Mr. Evans married the subject of this review in 1880 
and together they worked continuously for the advancement of his prosperity. 
Mr. Evans cleared his farm in Westford township, made substantial improve- 
ments upon it and from time to time erected the necessary buildings, making it 
before his death in 1901 one of the finest agricultural properties in the section. 

In his political views Mr. Evans was a stanch republican and took an active 
interest in the affairs of the community. He was a devout adherent of the Baptist 
church, holding his membership in Beaver Dam. It is men like him — men of 
unfaltering industry and determination — to whom the state owes much of its 
present wealth. He did able work in clearing the land and developing it into a 
profitable farm. The value of his labors is unquestioned and he deserves great 
credit for his successful accomplishment, but it is to women like Mrs. Rebecca 
Evans to whom we must go for the influencing source of the work and success. 



William J. Schwefel, one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists 
of Trenton township, who represents the third generation of his family in this 
county, owns and operates a well improved farm of eighty acres on section 34. 
His birth occurred in Lebanon township, on the 3d of July, 1869, his parents 
being William and Wilhelmina (Heilman) Schwefel, who are mentioned at 
greater length on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of 
Otto F. Schwefel, a brother of our subject. He was the third in order of birth 
in a family of twelve children and remained under the parental roof until twenty- 
six years of age, when he purchased the farm which has been his home to the 
present time. He devotes his attention to the pursuits of general farming, stock- 
raising and dairying and sells the milk from sixteen cows to the cheese factory. 
His cattle are graded Holstein and he has a registered male. He breeds to 
Percheron horses and raises pure bred Chester White hogs for the market, 
having twenty in his herd. Mr. Schwefel feeds all of his hay and grain. His 
entire farm is tillable and all of the improvements thereon have been made by 
him. There are cement floors in each of his buildings, which include a barn, 
fifty by forty-two feet, that he erected in 1896. In 1899 he rebuilt his resi- 
dence. Water for all purposes is supplied from drilled wells, and in fact the 



WILLIAM J. SCHWEFEL. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



419 



place is lacking in none of the improvements and conveniences of a model farm 
of the twentieth century. He is a progressive man and at various times has 
installed different modern equipments that have done away with much of the 
drudgery and greatly facilitated the work of his farm. The several branches 
of his business are proving sources of profit, for he is practical in his methods 
and his industry is seemingly indefatigable. 

On the 26th of May, 1895, Mr. Schwefel was united in marriage to Miss 
Eliza S. Kuenzi, a daughter of G. M. and Amelia (Milke) Kuenzi, who are of 
Swiss and German ancestry, respectively, and were born in Lebanon township, 
Dodge county, Wisconsin. They now reside near Waupun in this county, G. M. 
Kuenzi being sixty-six years of age, while his wife is sixty-one years old. Mrs. 
Schwefel is the first born in a family of twelve children, her natal day being 
July 3, 1874. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children, as 
follows : Lillian E., who was born on the 24th of January, 1897 ; E. Douglas G., 
whose birth occurred on the 18th of March, 1899, and is the first of the fourth 
generation of the Schwefel family in Dodge county; and William J., born May 
2, 1908. The daughter is now in her junior year at the Fox Lake high school. 

In his political views Mr. Schwefel is a democrat. The cause of education 
has ever found in him a stanch champion and he has been a member of the 
school board and clerk of the board for the past thirteen years. His religious 
faith is indicated by his membership in the German Lutheran church, of Trenton 
township, to which his wife and children also belong. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Schwefel have always lived in this county and well merit the regard and esteem 
uniformly accorded them. 



CHARLES A. KADING. 

Charles A. Kading is practicing law in Watertown with his wife as a partner 
and is recognized in this city as one of the able, progressive and representative 
attorneys. He and his wife are both keen and able practitioners and the one 
supplements the activities of the other in a most harmonious way. They have 
been associated since being admitted to the bar and received their legal educa- 
tion together and have since built up one of the most flourishing practices in 
the city. Mr. Kading was born in Lowell township, January 14, 1874, a son of 
Charles and Louisa (Bargans) Kading, natives of Germany, who came to 
America in 1866 and located on a farm in Dodge county. The father worked 
in the employ of others for some time but afterward bought land in Lowell 
township, to which he added from time to time and upon which he lives today. 
His wife passed away in 1881 and is buried in Lowell cemetery. 

Charles A. Kading is the third in a family of five children. He received his 
education in the public schools of his native section and afterward attended Wis- 
consin State University at Madison during the summer seasons. In 1900 he was 
graduated in law from Valparaiso University and was in the same year admitted 
to the Wisconsin bar, since which time he has been practicing law in Watertown 
in partnership with his wife. Both were engaged in teaching in the Theresa 
graded schools before their marriage, he as principal and she as assistant, and 

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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



during that time they agreed to study law together in Valparaiso University, 
receiving their degrees from that institution in the same year. Both are well 
versed in the intricate details of their profession and keep pace with modern 
progress and advancement. They have been connected with some important 
litigation and have always conducted the affairs entrusted to them ably and with 
a view to the best interests of their clients. They are well and prominently known 
in Watertown and have a gratifying practice, being very successful in its conduct. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kading occurred in 1900. Mrs. Kading was in 
her maidenhood Miss Elizabeth Holste, a daughter of Julius Sommers, of Water- 
town. Her parents died when she was a child and she was afterward adopted 
by Henry Holste, taking his name by order of the court. She was born July 17, 
1877, and was graduated from the Watertown high school, later taking the law 
course in Valparaiso University, graduating in 1900 and being admitted to the 
bar in the same year. She has since been associated with her husband in the 
general practice of law. They have one son, Charles Earl, who was born June 

i?X>7 

Mr. Kading is active and prominent in local fraternal circles, holding mem- 
bership in Watertown Lodge, No. 49, F. & A. M., and Watertown Chapter, No. 
11, R. A. M. He also belongs to Watertown Lodge, No. 666, B. P. O. E., and 
to Watertown Lodge No. 1242, F. O. E. He is well known in the Modern Wood- 
men of America, holding membership in Log Camp, No. 401, of Watertown. He 
belongs also to the Maccabees and to the Equitable Fraternal Union and his wife 
holds membership in Wood Camp, No. 3137, Royal Neighbors. Mr. Kading 
gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is well known in local affairs in 
the line of his profession. For seven years he was city attorney of Watertown 
and is now serving his sixth year as district attorney of Dodge county. He was 
chosen by his party as a candidate for the office of attorney general of the state, 
at the primaries, on September 3, 1912, his opponent being John F. Doherty, of 
La Crosse, Wisconsin, and came very nearly being elected, cutting down the 
majority in the strongly republican state of Wisconsin from about eighty thou- 
sand in 1908 to twenty-one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine in 1912. His 
prominence in important affairs has come to him by reason of his past able 
attainments and the thoroughness of his legal knowledge. 



Otto A. Grams, a general farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section 22, 
Trenton township, is busily engaged in the operation of a tract of two hundred 
acres which he rents from his father. His birth occurred in Green Lake county, 
Wisconsin, on the 20th of November, 1875, his parents being Ernst and Augusta 
(Deutchbein) Grams, both of whom arc natives of Germany. They emigrated 
to the United States in the early '70s and settled in Green Lake county, Wiscon- 
sin, while in 1886 they came to Dodge county, taking up their abode near Lake 
Emily, where they made their home for a period of fifteen years. In 1900 they 
purchased the farm on which they have since resided. Ernst Grams is now in 
the seventieth year of his age, while his wife is in her sixty-seventh year. Unto 



OTTO A. GRAMS. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



421 



them were born seven children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are as 
follows: Lena, who is the wife of Gustav Bcrnhagen and resides in Waupun; 
William, who is employed as a farm hand ; Otto A., of this review ; Louisa, who 
gave her hand in marriage to Herman Ringer and resides in Green Lake county ; 
Herman, who is married and resides in this county, near Waupun; and Elmer 
E., who is still under the parental roof. 

Otto A. Grams spent the first twenty-eight years of his life with his parents 
and was then married and established a home of his own. Starting out as an 
agriculturist on his own account, he cultivated rented land for three years and 
on the expiration of that period rented the homestead property from his father 
and has operated the same continuously since. The pursuits of general farming 
and stock-raising claim his time and energies, and one hundred and fifty acres of 
his place is under cultivation. He has both graded Durham and Holstein cattle 
and sells the milk from his twenty cows to the cheese factory. He also raises 
Chester White hogs for the market and breeds horses, and he feeds his grain 
and hay but sells his barley. All of the improvements on the property were made 
by himself and his father. The barn, thirty-six by fifty feet, was erected in 1875, 
and the residence was remodeled in 1907. The place presents a neat and attrac- 
tive appearance, everything about it evidencing capable management and intelli- 
gent supervision. 

In the fall of 1903 Mr. Grams was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Galow, 
a daughter of Gustav and Mary (Beltz) Galow, both of whom are natives of 
Germany. They emigrated to the United States in the late '80s, settling near 
Lomira, Dodge county, Wisconsin. They are today residents of Trenton town- 
ship, Gustav Galow having attained the age of fifty-seven years, while his wife 
is fifty-six years old. Mrs. Grams, the second in order of birth in a family of 
ten children, was born on the 16th of October, 1882. By her marriage she has 
become the mother of four children, one of whom died in infancy. The others 
are as follows : Mabel, who was born on the 14th of July, 1905 ; Dorothy, whose 
birth occurred on the 29th -of April, 1909; and Ernst G., whose natal day was 
December 22, 191 1, 

Mr. Grams is a democrat in politics and has served as a member of the school 
board for two years. He and his family belong to the Lutheran church at 
Waupun. He is well known and highly regarded throughout the community by 
all who know him or have dealings with him, as he is a man of upright prin- 
ciples and high standards, whose integrity is above question. 



WILLIAM MILTON. 

William Milton is living in Fox Lake and is giving his time to the manage- 
ment of his extensive land holdings in the city and in Trcn;on and Fox Lake 
townships. Until 1910 he was active and successful as a farmer, for he operated 
and developed one of the finest properties in Dodge county for about seventeen 
years and by his progressive methods kept constantly in touch with the trend of 
modern agricultural development He was born in Adams county, September 21, 
1859, a son of Peter and Ann (Greely) Milton, the former a native of Dover, 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



England, and the latter of County Galway, Ireland. Both came to America in 
their childhood and their marriage occurred in Chicago, Illinois. For some time 
afterward they resided in that city and in the early '50s came west to Wisconsin, 
settling in Adams county. There the father bought government land and 
developed and improved his property for seven years, after which he sold it and 
came to Dodge county, where he purchased thirty acres of land in Trenton town- 
ship. From that time until his retirement in 1892 he gave his attention exclu- 
sively to fanning and became prosperous and successful in his chosen field of 
labor. When he abandoned active life he moved to Fox Lake and there died 
January 22, 1910, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. His wife passed away 
on the 26th of May of the same year and was seventy-six years of age when she 
died. Both are buried in Waushara cemetery at Fox Lake. At the time of his 
death Peter Milton owned two hundred and ten acres of land in Trenton town- 
ship and a large amount of other valuable real estate in the section, and this. prop- 
erty was divided among his ten children. 

William Milton was the third child and the eldest son in this family. He was 
educated in the district schools and his boyhood was spent aiding his father with 
the work of the farm. When he was almost twenty-one years of age he began 
his independent career, working for wages on a neighboring property. At this 
he continued for six years and then bought, in partnership with his brother, one 
hundred and ninety-five acres of land in Trenton township and engaged in farm- 
ing. One year later he purchased his brother's interest and from that time oper- 
ated the enterprise alone. He studied agriculture as a systematic science, fol- 
lowed the most practical methods and gradually brought his farm to a high state 
of cultivation. Practically all the improvements upon the property were placed 
there by Mr. Milton. These include a fine barn, thirty-two feet long by forty 
feet wide, an attractive, modern and well appointed home, a drilled well supply- 
ing water for all purposes and other necessary and substantial improvements. 
Mr. Milton has one hundred and sixty acres under the plow, the remainder of 
his farm being swamp, marsh and wood land. This property comprises his* most 
valuable holding but he has made in the course of years other judicious invest- 
ments in land and owns forty acres in Fox Lake township besides his comfort- 
able residence in the village. 

Mr. Milton made his home upon his farm until the fall of 1905, when he 
retired from active life. He made his home in the hotel in Fox Lake until 
November 2, 1910, when he married Mrs. Emma Freeman, the widow of George 
Freeman and a daughter of John Hegetschweiler, of Lowell township. Her 
father died in 1891, at the age of sixty-three, and is buried in South Beaver Dam 
cemetery. Her mother resides in Beaver Dam and is in the seventy-first year 
of her age. The father was born in Switzerland and the mother in Germany. 
Mrs. Milton was the fifth in a family of eleven children and was born March 4, 
1867. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Milton moved into their attractive 
and comfortable home in Fox Lake and have become prominent and well known 
in social circles of the city, 

Mr. Milton gives his allegiance to the democratic party and is interested in 
public affairs, especially as they affect education. This interest has led him to 
accept a position on the Trenton school board and he has done able and conscien- 
tious work for the past three years. He is a member of the Fox Lake lodge 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



423 



of the Modern Woodmen of America. His active career was of the useful kind 
which influenced the growth of farming in methods and details. For seventeen 
years he worked steadily and earnestly to make his farm profitable and productive, 
and he accomplished not only his individual prosperity but his labors and suc- 
cess are factors in the general development. 



ROBERT J. BAIRD. 

Robert J. Baird, one of Dodge county's progressive and prosperous agricul- 
turists, devotes his attention to the pursuits of general farming and stock-raising, 
also making a specialty of dairying. His property, known as The Elms, com- 
prises two hundred acres of land on section 7, Trenton township, and twenty-two 
acres in Fox Lake township. His birth occurred in Marquette, Green Lake 
county, Wisconsin, on the 16th of December, 1862, his parents being Archibald 
and Catherine (Casey) Baird, the former a native of Ireland, and the latter of 
Wisconsin. When a boy Archibald Baird came alone to the United States, mak- 
ing his way to Wisconsin and spending several years at Elkhorn, Walworth 
county. Subsequently he removed to Green Lake county, this state, and there 
engaged in farming. He was married in the year i860 and remained a resident 
of Green Lake county until 1900, when he went to the Soldiers' Home in Mil- 
waukee, there passing away on the 1st of September, 1907, when seventy-five 
years of age. His widow, who is now sixty-seven years old, makes her home in 
Beaver Dam. In 1863 Mr. Baird enlisted for service in the Union army as a 
member of Company A, Fifty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and the 
same year was taken sick at Benton Barracks, in St. Louis. After a serious ill- 
ness of six months he returned home on a furlough and at the close of the war ' 
was honorably discharged. Five years ago he was buried in the Soldiers' 
National Cemetery at Milwaukee, with military honors. 

Robert J. Baird, who was the first born in a family of nine children, attended 
the public schools in the acquirement of an education and remained under the 
parental roof until his twentieth year. At that time he came to Trenton town- 
ship, this county, and here cultivated rented land until 1904, when he purchased 
the property which is now in his possession and on which he has since made his 
home. In connection with the production of cereals he devotes considerable 
attention to stock-raising and also makes a specialty of dairying, milking thirty 
cows of graded Durham stock. He raises hogs for the market and has on hand 
one hundred head of pure-bred Poland Chinas. All of his land is ready for the 
plow and has natural drainage, and the property is all fenced and hog tight. Mr. 
Baird feeds his hay and a part of his grain but sells his barley. The house and 
barn stood on the farm when it came into his possession but he has built a silo, 
garage, hog houses and other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock 
and his property is now lacking in none of the equipments and accessories of a 
model farm of the twentieth century. Water for all purposes is supplied from 
drilled wells. Mr. Baird values his place at thirty-five thousand dollars and 
enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the leading and successful agriculturists 
of the community. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company and 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



the Fanners Mutual Dairy Company, of Waupun, Wisconsin, and also in the 
Fox Lake State Bank. 

In 1886 Mr. Baird was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Milton, a daughter 
of Peter and Ann (Greeley) Milton, who were natives of England and Ireland, 
respectively. They emigrated to America in early life and were married in Chi- 
cago, spending the first two years of their domestic life in that city. They then 
removed to Adams county, Wisconsin, where Peter Milton followed farming for 
six years. In 1864 he came to Dodge county, settled in Trenton township, pur- 
chased land and resided there until 1892, his farm at that time embracing one 
hundred and seventy-five acres. Leasing that place, he purchased property in 
Fox Lake, Wisconsin, where he spent the remainder of his life in honorable 
retirement, passing away on the 20th of January, 1910, at the age of seventy- 
seven years. His wife was called to her final rest on the 25th of May, 1910, 
when seventy-four years of age. The remains of both were interred in the ceme- 
tery at Fox Lake. Mrs. Baird, whose birth occurred in February, 1859, was one 
of a pair of twins and the eldest of eleven children. She is now the mother of 
four children, as follows: Albert H., at home, who was graduated from the State 
Agricultural College, at Madison, in 1912; Mathew J., Lucy May and Clarence 
P., all of whom are still under the parental roof. 

Mr. Baird gives his political allegiance to the republican party, has been school 
director for many years and for a period of twenty-six years has acted in the 
capacity of road superintendent. In 1906 he was appointed a delegate to the 
farmers' national congress. His religious faith is indicated by his membership 
in St. Mary's Catholic church of Fox Lake, to which his wife and children also 
belong. He commands the warm friendship and esteem of all who know him 
by reason of his high ideals of citizenship and honorable dealings in all business 
relations. His prosperity is well merited, for it has come as the direct reward 
of his earnest and intelligently directed effort. 



Owen R. Jones owns and operates an excellent farm of one hundred and 
fifty-seven acres on sections 33 and 34, Calamus township, upon which he carries 
on general farming and stock-raising, and his business qualifications and his 
genuine personal worth entitle him to be numbered among the representative 
citizens of Dodge county. He was born on December 3, 1857, ^ is a son of 
O. B. and Ann (Edwards) Jones, natives of Wales. His father's birth occurred 
in 1823 and in 1844 he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Columbus 
county, Wisconsin. In the following year he purchased a farm on Fountain 
Prairie, in that section which he operated until a few months before his death, 
when he moved to Randolph and made his home with his daughter. The mother 
of our subject was born in Wales in 1825 and was married in America in 1848. 
She and her husband had eight children, two of whom died in infancy, the 
others being: David O., who married Rachel Prichard, and who lives in Spencer, 
Iowa; John O., who married May Roberts, a daughter of Griffith Roberts of 
Bristol Grove, Minnesota; Edward E., who married Mary Jones of Fillmore 



OWEN R. JONES. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



425 



county, Minnesota, and who lives in Lime Springs, Iowa; Ann, who became 
the wife of Robert Lewis of Fillmore county, Minnesota; Mary, who married 
John Williams of Randolph, Wisconsin ; and Owen R., the subject of this sketch. 

Owen R. Jones was reared upon his father's farm in Fountain Prairie and 
in his early youth went west and carried on general agriculture in South Dakota, 
North Dakota, Montana, and northern Iowa, locating upon his present farm in 
Calamus township in 1888. Since that time he has made his home in this section 
and is today ranked among the leading and representative citizens of the county. 
His farm comprises one hundred and fifty-seven acres, one hundred and seven 
of which are under cultivation. He carries on general agriculture and stock- 
raising, breeding all grades of cattle. He has lived for almost a quarter of a 
century upon the property which he is now operating and has made it a well 
improved farm, equipped with large barns and outbuildings and with modern 
labor-saving machinery. 

In October, 1886, Mr. Jones was united in marriage in Fountain Prairie to 
Miss Mary Roberts, a daughter of David R. Roberts, of that section. Mrs. 
Jones was reared by her uncle, Robert R. Roberts, having made her home with 
him since the death of her mother. She and her husband became the parents 
of nine children, two of whom have passed away. The others are: Margaret, 
who was born in 1887, and who is the wife of William C. Roberts, a son of 
Hugh Roberts of Calamus township; Agnes, who was born in January, 1889, 
and who lives at home; Milton, whose natal day was September 15, 1890, 
and who now lives in Spencer, Iowa; Edward, who was born in August, 1892, 
and who is still with his parents; Roy, who was born in November, 1894, and 
who also lives with his parents; Harriett, whose birth occurred in August, 1897; 
and Maurice, who was born on the 27th of July, 1905, and who is still upon 
the home farm. 

In his political beliefs Mr. Jones is a consistent republican and takes an 
intelligent interest in public affairs although he has never sought public office. 
He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and is a devout member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. Viewed from every standpoint his life may 
be termed successful because he has made his holdings productive and valuable, 
and has achieved the good-will, trust and respect of all with whom he has been 
associated. 



EARL M. FEELYATER, D. V. S. 

Dr. Earl M. Feelyater, of Randolph, is successfully engaged in the practice 
of veterinary surgery and also acts as assistant state veterinarian. His birth 
occurred in Columbus township, Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1887, his parents 
being Frank and Ada (Leffingwell) Feelyater. The father was born at that 
place in 1847. The paternal grandfather of our subject was reared in Paris 
and came to this country from France as a young man, landing in New York 
with only one shilling in his pocket Making his way to Ohio, he there secured 
employment and by diht of hard work and careful economy accumulated some 
capital. On coming west he took up his abode in Columbus township, Columbia 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



county, this state. Unto him and his wife were born nine children. Dominick, 
the eldest, died of diphtheria when a child.. Katherine, a native of Columbia 
county, became the wife of John Beckwith and they established their home in 
Columbus, Wisconsin, where they passed away and are buried. Nicholas, who 
was born in 1841, wedded Miss Charlotte Raines and lived in Columbus town- 
ship, Columbia county, until his demise in 191 1. Both he and his wife were 
buried at Columbus, the latter passing away about 1905. Rosa, whose natal year 
was 1843, still makes her home at Columbus, Wisconsin. Adam, whose birth 
occurred in 1845, wedded Miss Jennie Jones and yet resides in Columbus. His 
wife died about 1892 and was buried at that place. Samuel married Miss Char- 
lotte Luey and established his home in Columbus, Wisconsin, where both he and 
his wife passed away and are buried. Frank Feelyater, the father of our 
subject, was the next in order of birth. Clarissa, born in 1851, died and was 
buried at Columbus. Louis, whose natal year was 1853, passed away in childhood. 

Following his marriage Frank Feelyater took up his abode on the farm where 
he now resides. His children were four in number, namely: Earl M., of this 
review; one who died in infancy; Winifred, born in 1891, who gave her hand 
in marriage to Max Wendt and resides in Columbus, Wisconsin ; and Bernard 
who was born in 1897 and is still under the parental roof. 

Earl M. Feelyater obtained his early education in a district school and later 
entered the high school at Columbus, being graduated therefrom when a youth 
of seventeen. After putting aside his text-books he worked for several veterin- 
arians in Columbus, Wisconsin, and Austin, Minnesota, and subsequently entered 
the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated in 191 1. He located 
for practice at Randolph, Wisconsin, and was here appointed assistant state 
veterinarian under A. H. Hartwig, state veterinarian of Wisconsin. In the line 
of his profession Dr. Feelyater has already won a creditable measure of suc- 
cess, his practice extending over a large territory. He is a member of the Alpha 
Psi fraternity of Chicago and now holds the office of president of its alumni 
association. A young man of ability and ambition, he will undoubtedly make 
steady advancement in the field of his chosen life work. 



Albert Genrich, who owns and operates a farm of eighty acres located on 
section 36, Westford township, was born in Germany on the 1st of February, 
1846. He is a son of Gotlieb and Henrietta (Felgenhaurer) Genrich, both of 
whom passed their entire lives in the old country, the father's death there occur- 
ring when our subject was a child of about two years. The family of Mr. and Mrs. 
Genrich numbered eight children: Wilhc'lmina, who became the wife of Frederick 
Scharbias, and passed away in Merrill, Wisconsin, where she is buried ; Albertina, 
the deceased wife of John Bachaus, her death occurring at Wausau, this state, 
where she is buried ; Johanna, the wife of Fred Tetz, who has always resided in 
Germany ; Fred, a resident of Wausau, this state, who married Wilhelmina Guese; 
Ferdinand, who married Gusta Fox and passed away in Germany about 1896; 



ALBERT GENRICH. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



427 



Frank, who emigrated to this country about 1867, locating in Rolling Prairie, 
this state, where he married Albertina Leitzke, now residing in Beaver Dam; 
and Julius, deceased, who passed his entire life in Germany. 

Albert Genrich, the other member of the family, passed the first twenty-four 
years of his life in his native land. Having become dissatisfied with conditions 
as he found them there, he resolved to join his brother in America and in 1870, 
took passage for the United States. He arrived June 18th, of that year, and 
came direct to Wisconsin, locating at Burnett. Two years later he went to 
Nebraska, where he remained until 1874, when he returned to Wisconsin, set- 
tling on his present farm in Westford township. Here he has ever since resided, 
devoting his entire time and attention to the development of his property. His 
land is all under cultivation and in connection with his general farming he engages 
in dairying and raises graded stock. 

Mr. Genrich was married in 1871 to Miss Henrietta Leitzke, who was born 
in Germany, October 7, 1847. 1° *869» sne left her native land and emigrated 
to the United States, making the long journey alone. She came direct to Wis- 
consin, locating in Rolling Prairie. To Mr. and Mrs. Genrich there have been 
born the following children: Annie, who was born in 1872, became the wife of 
August Ehlert, and passed away in Beaver Dam in 1900, being buried in Oak- 
wood cemetery; Julius, whose birth occurred in 1873; Amelia, who was born in 
1875 ; Emma, whose natal year was 1877, and who is the wife of Fred Michaels, 
of Aurora, Illinois; Clara, who was born in 1880, and is the wife of Carl Mich- 
aels, of Beaver Dam; and Arthur, who was born November 8, 1882, and married 
Emma Podolski, of Horicon, Wisconsin. 

In matters of faith the family are Lutherans, the parents holding membership 
in the First German church of that denomination in Beaver Dam. Mr. Genrich 
has worked zealously early and late and fully merits such success as has come to 
him. In matters of business he is strictly honest and upright and has won the 
reputation among his neighbors and fellow townsmen of being trustworthy and 
reliable. 



JOSEPH KIRK EVISON. 

During the last six years of his life Joseph Kirk Evison was a resident of 
Beaver Dam and for forty years previously had lived in Wisconsin. He displayed 
many sterling traits of character — devotion to his family, loyalty to his friends, 
fidelity to his country and unfaltering allegiance to his church — and thus it was 
that he won and enjoyed the respect and good- will of all who knew him. He 
was born at Navenby, Lincolnshire, England, October 21, 1831, and was about 
seventeen years of age when he came alone to the new world. Later his parents, 
his brothers, William, Christopher and George, and his sisters, Elizabeth Ann 
and Susannah, also came to the United States. He first located in Brookfield. 
Wisconsin, and though his financial resources were limited, his energy and deter- 
mination were unfaltering and he put forth every possible effort to make a start 
in life. In 1863 he removed to Burnett, where he lived until 1896, and thence 
he removed to Beaver Dam, where he made his home for about a year, when 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



he returned to the farm and spent four years. He then returned again to 
Beaver Dam, where he lived until his demise. In England he was a shepherd 
but in the new world followed agricultural pursuits and became a farmer of 
the more modern and progressive type. 

While living in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Mr. Evison was united in marriage 
to Miss Anna Leith and unto them were born nine children, five of whom are 
living, namely: Edgar Kirk, Joseph Arthur, William Leith, Jenny Isabel and 
Lizzy Ann. The wife and mother passed away on the 15th of December, 1896, 
at her home in Beaver Dam, and about five years later, or on the 12th of June, 
1901, Mr. Evison wedded Mrs. Mary E. Hovey. They lived together in happy 
wedlock until separated by death on the 25th of April, 1910, when Mr. Evison 
was called to the home beyond. In his native town of Navenby he was reared 
in the Episcopal faith but soon after coming to this country he united with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he remained a consistent and devoted 
member until his death. 

Mrs. Evison, who still survives him, bore the maiden name of Mary Saunders 
and was born in Monterey, Schuyler county, New York, June 29, 1848, her 
parents being Avery P. and Caroline (Goodrich) Saunders, who had but the 
one child. In her very early girlhood the family removed to the south and in 
1865 she left Grenada, Mississippi, to become a resident of the Empire state. 
In 1867 she married George L. Hovey at Rock Stream, New York, and they 
traveled life's journey together for about nineteen years, when in 1886 Mr. 
Hovey passed away. Her father, born in New York, went south in 1856 and 
served as a Confederate soldier during the Civil war. Mrs. Evison has written 
most interesting reminiscences concerning the period of the Civil war which 
for lack of space we cannot print in full. She said in part : "My memory drifts 
back to the dear old sunny south, before the war, in slavery days, when I was 
a happy schoolgirl in a southern Baptist college. There were rumors of war 
and when the call went forth 'To arms,' every man or boy who loved his country 
responded to the call. Soldiers began to go into camp from our own town, across 
the road in a grove from my home. Professor Granberry, every time a train 
would come into the station loaded with soldiers, would march the girls to the 
train to see them. . . . Our home companies left us and others came and 
camped around us. Our colleges and churches were taken for hospitals and 
there was no more going to school until the war was over. School closed at 
once the day after the national colors were lowered over Fort Sumter and we 
began to realize that war had come in earnest. At last the bluecoats faced the 
gray legions, and as sadly as they misjudged each other at that time, there was 
not one who fell asleep that night but realized that before another sun would 
set the red soil would be dyed a still redder hue. Our president, Jefferson 
Davis, reviewed his troops, some thirty thousand men, on a field just back of 
our house. The soldiers were from three o'clock in the morning until noon 
getting on the ground to be reviewed by the president, who rode a very excitable 
but beautiful black horse. Everybody went to sec the parade. It was the 
grandest sight of my life. ... At last these troops were called to 'Forward 
march' toward Corinth and Shiloh and the town seemed forsaken. There was 
not a man or boy to be seen that could carry a gun, only those too old or too 
young and a few who were detailed from the ranks for other duties. Among 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



429 



these was my father, who, being an undertaker, was detailed to make coffins. 
Finally there came a draft and he, too, had to respond to the southern call." 
Mrs. Evison then writes a clear account of the hard times that ensued, when 
seventy-five dollars in Confederate money was paid for a pound of coffee, when 
it was a rare treat to have biscuit which had previously been served in southern 
homes three times a day and when they lived principally on corn meal, ground 
in a portable mill by hand. For lights they sometimes used a button tied up 
in a cloth put in a saucer of grease. Again they would use a corncob wound 
around with five yards of candle wick dipped in rosin, beeswax and melted 
tallow. Dry goods, too, were exceedingly high and could only be secured when 
some of the ladies, with a negro driver and an ox team, would go to Memphis, 
ninety-eight miles away, and smuggle through their purchases. But at length 
the guards became suspicious and searched everyone that came through the 
lines. "We had to spin our own thread, card our cotton rolls by hand, spin 
them into thread, boil this and twist it while wet. I at one time paid eighty 
dollars for eight yards of cloth for a 'best dress' and for a hat wore a sun- 
bonnet. I finally learned to braid straw and palmetto very much like some of 
the fancy braids used today. 

"One morning, bright and beautiful, up from behind the forts the sun burst 
forth in all the splendor of early summer. But listen! Sounds came like 
thunder, although the sky was cloudless. Soon it came again, deepening into a 
sullen roar, and we knew what it meant. It was an exciting time when our 
town was taken. Just before the northerners came in, you would see women 
here and there, carrying trunks to hide them from the Yankees. My stepmother 
and I did not agree very well on the political question of the day. I had 
northern blood in my veins and it rushed to the surface, manifesting itself in 
favor of the Yankees. She, being a South Carolinian and one of the strongest 
secessionists, sided with the south. I came running in one day clapping my 
hands and exclaiming: 'Atlanta has fallen, and all the forts around Mobile.' 
Mother became very angry with me and called me a black-hearted republican. 
On and on the northerners came through fields and woods across the river, 
where other scenes were destined to occur on this fatal day. 'Gose up, close 
up!' shouted the commander. As they push onward a gray haze begins to 
spread over the heavens, and the air is heavy with burnt powder, the fire rings 
from the musketry and artillery. I only wish I might picture these scenes as 
I saw them. Back and forth the gray and blue lines stagger and reel in appalling 
scene of uproar, confusion and death. A mighty hurrah rents the air, the blue 
masses come forward and the enemy flies. Broken, disordered, the gray lines 
melt away into a disorganized mass that rolls back in disorder and confusion, 
realizing that our town was hopelessly lost. The sun hung like a ball of fire in 
the heavens. Our men, the southerners, retreated past our house about five 
o'clock. I stood in the door looking down toward the river. I saw a squad of 
cavalry coming, thinking at the first glimpse it was the southerners still retreat- 
ing. As they neared the house I could see their blue coats. A friend standing 
in the door with me when we first saw them slapped her hands, trying to hurry 
them on that they might not be taken prisoners. Everything that had anything 
to do with the government was burned that night. The town seemed to be one 
mass of flames." Mrs. Evison then gave a most interesting description of the 



430 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Memorial Day in the south, saying: "It is worthy of remembrance that not- 
withstanding the bitterness that then existed, the grave of every northern 
soldier was decorated and from that time to the present not one has been 
neglected anywhere through the south. In Richmond, in historic old Holly- 
wood cemetery, there is a soldiers' monument, ninety feet high, which marks 
the graves of eighteen thousand Confederate soldiers. There lie our beloved 
generals, Stuart and Pickett, who fell on the battlefield only seven miles away, 
trying to save Richmond for a time from the enemy. There also, upon a lofty 
eminence overlooking the falls of James river, rests the president of the 'Con- 
federate States' and by his side Miss Winnie Davis, the 'Daughter of the Con- 
federacy,' whom not only the south but the whole country loved and mourned, 
and on this Memorial Day from all over the country are sent flowers as a 
tribute to her worth and in attestation of a reunited country." 



GEORGE BREWSTER SWAN. 

George Brewster Swan, a graduate in law from the University of Wiscon- 
sin, has since 1903 been engaged in practice in Beaver Dam, his native city, and 
the eight years which have elapsed since that time have chronicled steady prog- 
ress in his profession, with increasing ability to handle intricate and important 
litigated interests. He was born June 4, 1878, and is a son of Dr. George E. 
and Mary W. Swan, the former of whom was a descendant of Thomas Benedict, 
who came to the Plymouth Bay colony in 1638. 

George B. Swan acquired his early education in the Beaver Dam public 
schools and later attended Shattuck -Military School in Faribault, Minnesota, 
and was from 1898 to 1900 a student in Colgate University at Hamilton, New 
York. His broad literary training enabled him to make rapid progress in his 
preparation for the bar, for his receptive mind and retentive memory qualified 
him to grasp readily the salient points of the profession. In 1903 he received 
the degree of LL. B. from the law department of the University of Wiscon- 
sin and opened an office in Beaver Dam, where he has since attained a position 
of prominence and importance in legal circles. He prepares his cases thor- 
oughly and is seldom, if ever, at fault in his application of a legal principle. 
In addition his mind is naturally analytical and in his reasoning he clearly points 
out the relation of cause and effect, his deductions being entirely logical. In 
consequence, his practice has grown and expanded, so that today he is con- 
nected with much of the important litigation in the courts of his district. 

On the 4th of August, 1904, Mr. Swan married, at Beaver Dam, Miss Mary 
A. Campbell, a daughter of James and Margaret Campbell, the former a native 
of Canada, of Scotch parentage, and the latter born in Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. 
Swan have two children: George Campbell, aged seven; and Mary Margaret, 
aged six. 

Mr. Swan has always taken an interest in educational affairs and in move- 
ments of general interest, his identification as trustee with the Wayland Academy, 
as director with the Williams Free Library and as a member of the board of 
directors with the Beaver Dam Hospital Association indicating something of 



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431 



the scope of his activities. In college he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon 
and was received in the Phi Delta Phi in law school. He is also prominent in 
the Masonic order, holding membership in Dodge County Lodge, No. 72, 
F. & A. M. He gives his allegiance to the republican party but has never been 
an office seeker, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional 
duties. His devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial and he has established 
himself in a successful and growing practice in his native city. 



LOUIS R. KOHLMANN. 

One of the substantial, representative and enterprising fanners of Dodge 
county, who by carrying on agriculture along systematic and progressive lines 
are making their individual prosperity count as a public resource, is Louis R. 
Kohlmann, operating one of the finest tracts of land in the district. His fatm 
comprises one hundred and twenty-five acres on section 36, Burnett township, 
and to its cultivation he is bringing industry, intelligence and activity and is 
making it a model property. Mr. Kohlmann was born on April 25, 1876, in 
Horicon and is a son of William and Augusta (Wegner) Kohlmann, both 
natives of Germany. They came to America at an early date and settled on a 
farm near Leroy. Mr. Kohlmann is the second of the three children born 
to their union. 

Our subject received his early education in the German parochial school 
of Horicon and completed it in the public high school of that city. He has 
lived with his parents all his life but his active career began when he was 
fourteen years of age. At that time he obtained a position in a dry-goods store 
at Horicon, working in the employ of F. A. Melcher, with whom he remained 
for three years. At the end of that time he began fanning and has since 
made this the principal industry of his life. His property is one of the finest 
tracts of land in Dodge county and Mr. Kohlmann has it entirely enclosed by 
a barbed wire fence. He has made extensive improvements in the buildings, 
erecting barns, a tool shed and granaries. He has remodeled the residence, 
making it comfortable and pleasant. He engages in general farming but special- 
izes in the breeding and raising of mixed Durham and Holstein cattle. He is 
well known as a dairyman and the products of this branch of his enterprise he 
sells to the Union Dairy Cheese Factory. His herd for dairy purposes com- 
prises fourteen head of high-grade cattle. He also breeds Poland China hogs 
for the Wisconsin markets and sells barley, oats, hay and other grains. He is 
an enterprising and skilful agriculturist and has promoted his prosperity by 
firm adherence to standards of progress. 

On February 9, 1899, Mr. Kohlmann was united in marriage to Miss Ella 
L. Isaack, a daughter of Albert and Augusta (Christian) Isaack, both natives 
of Burnett township. To Mr. and Mrs. Kohlmann have been born five chil- 
dren, Harold, Myrtle, Millard, Viola and Verna. 

Mr. Kohlmann is active in democratic politics and from 1909 to 1910 served 
as deputy sheriff under August Gramlow. He did able and successful work 
for two years and in the fall of 1910 announced his candidacy for the office 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of sheriff. He was defeated by William Volkman, of Beaver Dam, but is now 
in the field for the office on the democratic ticket. His business success is only 
equalled by his personal kindliness. He has taken care of his sister, Martha 
Laura Alice Kohlmann, since she was nine years of age. Her birth occurred 
December 30, 1890, and our subject has had entire charge of her education. 
He sent her to the Horicon Lutheran German Parochial school and she com- 
pleted her studies in joint school district, No. 3, of Burnett and Oak Grove 
townships. Mr. Kohlmann is still a young man but during the period of his 
active life has taken a helpful part in the work of improvement and progress 
which has been carried forward along agricultural lines. He has directed his 
own career so successfully that he is today classed among the prominent farmers 
of Dodge county and has made his progressive and systematic labors fruitful 
of results. 



Carl F. Ruedebusch does general farming and stock-raising upon one hun- 
dred forty-eight and one-half acres of land on section 3, Beaver Dam town- 
ship, and is numbered among the prosperous, progressive and substantial agri- 
culturists of this district. He is a native son of Dodge county, having been born 
in Mayville, March 18, 1869. He is a son of Henry F. and Louise Ruede- 
busch, natives of Germany, who were reared and educated in that country, 
where their marriage occurred. His father came to America about the year 
1857 and settled in Dodge county, where he purchsaed land and carried on 
general agriculture for a few years, returning to Germany after a short time 
in order to bring his wife to this country. He purchased one hundred and sixty 
acres in Williamstown where he lived until 1890, when he disposed of his 
property and moved to Beaver Dam. Here he resided for one year, buying 
at the end of that time sixty acres near Mayville, upon which he lived until his 
death which occurred in 1906, when he was seventy-two years of age. His wife 
survives him and makes her home with her daughter in Mayville. 

Carl F. Ruedebusch was the fifth in a family of ten children. He was reared 
at home and educated in the district schools of Dodge county, becoming acquainted 
at an early date with the details and methods of agriculture by personal experi- 
ence upon his father's farm. He remained at home until he was twenty-one 
and then went to Nebraska, where he resided for two months returning to 
Beaver Dam where he learned the creamery business. For twenty years he 
was successful in this line of occupation following it until 1910, when he sold 
his enterprise and purchased the farm upon which he is now residing. He is 
the owner of one hundred forty-eight and one-half acres, highly improved and 
cultivated. He does general farming and specializes in stock-raising, intend- 
ing to devote much of his time in the future to the breeding of pure-blooded 
Holstein cattle. He operates a sanitary dairy and sells his milk to a neighbor- 
ing cheese factory. He has his acres planted in various grains and in hay and 
he feeds his own cattle, disposing of all his farm products in this way with 
the exception of his barley which he sells in the Wisconsin markets. 



CARL F. RUEDEBUSCH. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY! 



433 



In 1898 Mr. Ruedebusch was united in marriage to Miss Lina Pernot, a 
daughter of Albert Pernot of Mayville. Mrs. Ruedebusch was born on July 
28, 1 87 1, and remained at home until her marriage. She and her husband 
became the parents of three children: Lester, Who died at the age of five years 
and five months; and Eugene and Louise, both of whom live at home. The 
family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church of Beaver Dam. 

In his political beliefs Mr. Ruedebusch is a firm republican, taking an intelli- 
gent interest in local and national affairs but never seeking public office for him- 
self. He is well known as a member of the Royal Arcanum and has many 
friends in the section in which he resides. Although he has been farming but 
a short time his influence is important in agricultural circles for his methods are 
progressive and systematic and his standards high. He is one of the enterpris- 
ing and prosperous citizens of his district and in him modern agriculture finds 
a worthy representative. 



GUSTAVUS FLOHR. 

Gustavus Flohr was born in Dodge county in 1847, the beginning of the 
pioneer period in the section, and his life has been identified with almost its entire 
development and growth, for few settlements had been made within the borders 
in his childhood and all of the evidences of pioneer life were to be seen and hard 
conditions of pioneer development to be met. At the present time he owns and 
cultivates the homestead, which he aided his father to wrest from the wilderness, 
and his farm is one of the finest in the county. The name of Flohr has for 
many years been prominent in Wisconsin history. The father of our subject, 
Morris Flohr, was born in Saxony, Germany, and was reared and educated in 
that country. He came to America in 1846 and settled in Dodge county, on 
land in what is now Emmet township. He was a man of excellent education 
and had followed the trade of landscape gardening in his native country. When 
he settled in Wisconsin he purchased land and began its improvement and 
development. All around him stretched unbroken timber tracts and the growth 
was heavy upon his farm. With characteristic energy, however, he set himself 
to clear the land and fence his fields. There was a small shanty upon his 
property when he located there and his first winter in the new world was spent 
in this crude dwelling. However, in the following year he built a good log 
house, in which he lived with his family for some time. As his financial resources 
increased he added to his holdings, built substantial barns and outbuildings 
and finally erected an excellent modern dwelling. This was a frame house, but 
was brick filled, and this made it warm and comfortable throughout the severe 
Wisconsin winters. Morris Flohr reared his sons upon his farm in Emmet 
township but later retired to Watertown, where he resided until his death in 
1883. 

Gustavus Flohr is one of two children born to his parents. He grew to 
manhood upon his father's farm and received his education in the district schools. 
This was supplemented by a short course in the Watertown public schools. 
When Morris Flohr retired his son assumed charge of the management of the 



434 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



estate and has since given a great deal of his time to its further improvement 
and development. He built a large basement barn, a silo and other outbuildings 
and installed machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. A large portion of 
his land is planted in orchard and a number of acres are under cultivation in 
suitable grains. In connection with general farming Mr. Flohr conducts a 
model dairy and is also extensively interested in stock-raising. He keeps a fine> 
herd of graded Holstein cattle, with a pure-blood registered bull at the head. 
He also has fine hogs and thoroughbred horses. Every department of his farm 
is excellently managed and shows the care and supervision of an expert 
agriculturist. 

Mr. Flohr was married, in Dodge county, June i, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth 
Mengel, who was born and reared in this section. She is a daughter of John 
Mengel, who came from Germany to America when he was eighteen years of 
age and settled in Massachusetts, where he remained for a short time, employed 
in a factory. He there married Miss. Elizabeth Frank, also a native of Germany, 
and with her moved to Wisconsin in 1843, among the pioneer settlers in the 
state. He entered a claim in Clyman township and after proving his title cleared 
it of tiniber and improved it in every way. Upon this farm he resided until his 
death. Mr. and Mrs. Flohr became the parents of six children, one of whom, 
William, died at the age of seven months. The others are : Franklin and Louis, 
who live at home and assist their father in the work of the farm ; Charles, who 
is operating a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Clyman township ; and 
Hermina and Emily, both of whom live at home. 

Since casting his first vote Mr. Flohr has steadily adhered to the principles 
and policies of the democratic party and has served in various local offices. He 
was elected a member of the board of supervisors and did able work for one term. 
He has also served as a member of the school board and was district clerk 
for a number of years. He held the office of district treasurer and has been a 
a delegate to many county conventions. For sixty-five years he has lived in 
Dodge county and he is one of the few who have for so long a time witnessed 
its growth and development. Throughout the entire period he has made his 
home upon his present farm but has not confined his attentions and efforts to 
its cultivation alone, but from time to time has given hearty cooperation to many 
movements for the public good and has been active in their promotion. Dodge 
county owes' its development to such men, who faced the hardships of life in 
pioneer times and have reclaimed this region for the purposes of civilization. 



Emil J. Schulze has been connected with the hardware business in Beaver 
Dam, Wisconsin, for a number of years and as a member of the firm of Miller 
& Schulze occupies a prominent place in business circles of the city. He was 
born on December 16, 1870, and is a native son of Beaver Dam. His parents 
were Frederick A. and Augusta (Dornfeld) Schulze, both natives of Germany, 
who came to Wisconsin in 1843, settling in Lebanon, Dodge county. Mr. 
Schulze's grandfather, Frederick Schulze, also left his native country for America 



EMIL J. SCHULZE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



435 



and died in this country. He was the father of four children, Frederick A., 
William, August and Sophia. Emil J. Schulze is one of a family of nine 
children : Augusta, living in Kenosha, Wisconsin ; Frederick, who passed away 
in 1909, at the age of forty-six years; Louis, born in Beaver Dam November 19, 
1864; Frank and Emil, both of whom are residents of Beaver Dam; William, 
who lives in Spokane, Washington; Emmett, also of Beaver Dam; Olga, now 
Mrs. Zimpel, of Milwaukee; and Minnie, who makes her home in the same city. 

Emil J. Schulze was educated in the public schools of his native city and at 
the age of twenty laid aside his books to begin his active career. He worked 
upon a farm near Beaver Dam until 1908 and was prosperous and successful 
as an agriculturist. He later turned his attention to the building business, 
specializing in structures made of cement blocks and gained a gratifying degree 
of success in this line. He later bought with -Mr. Miller the hardware business 
belonging to Beichel Brothers and they conduct business under the firm name of 
Miller & Schulze. The firm is conducting one of the largest and most flourish- 
ing establishments in the hardware line in Beaver Dam and is bringing to its 
conduct modern and progressive principles. 

Mr. Schulze was united in marriage to Miss Anna Vetter, a daughter of 
Elmer and Sophia Vetter, of Watertown, South Dakota. In the family of Mr. 
and Mrs. Vetter were nine children: Edward, Robert, Louis, Anna, Hannah, 
Richard and Laura, all of whom reside in Watertown, South Dakota, except 
Anna, who is the wife of our subject; Ella, now Mrs. Louis, of Alberta, Canada; 
and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Schulze are the parents of three children: Alvin, 
whose birth occurred in September, 1899; Ella, born in 1900; and Frederick, 
born in 1903. 

Mr. Schulze served with great ability and efficiency for three years as town 
clerk. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which 
organization he is past grand. He also belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles 
and is active in the Beavers. He is widely known as a representative and enter- 
prising business man who has always maintained a commercial policy which is 
above reproach and which has brought htm gratifying prosperity. 



DAVID W. WILLIAMS. 

David W. Williams, who is now living retired in Columbus, was long and 
actively identified with general agricultural pursuits as a farmer and stock- 
raiser of Calamus township, owning a well improved place of one hundred and 
twenty acres which was his father's homestead and which he has recently sold. 
He has spent practically all of his life in Wisconsin, having come to Dodge 
county with his parents when he was a little over a year old. He was born in 
Wales, November 2, 1846, and is a son of William D. and Mary (Jones) 
Williams, both natives of that country, where the father was born on March 
20, 1805, and the mother in the same year. Their marriage occurred in Wales, 
in 1837, and ten years later they came to America. They became the parents 
of six children: John W., born May 21, 1838, who married Miss Leah Williams 
and is now residing in Minneapolis; Margaret, who was born July 22, 1839, 

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436 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



and became the wife of Jonah Jones, of Columbus, Wisconsin; Catherine, who 
was born on the ist of February, 1841, and who married Samuel W. Jones, 
also of Columbus; Mary, whose birth occurred on the 25th of November, 1844, 
and who became the wife of Thomas O. Jones, of Mankato, Minnesota ; Moses, 
who passed away at the age of three years and is buried in Bethel at Elba ; and 
David W., of this review. 

The last named was one year and a half old when his parents settled in Elba 
township near Bethel church. They, however, remained in that section only 
a short time before they moved to their farm on section 32, Calamus township, 
where Mr. Williams spent his childhood. He was educated in the district schools 
and when not engaged with his books was active in assisting his father in the 
work of the farm, gaining thus at an early date a knowledge of the most prac- 
tical and modern agricultural methods. Eventually he became the owner of 
one hundred and twenty acres of land, constituting his father's original pur- 
chase, and upon this carried on general agriculture and stock-raising with excel- 
lent success. In October, 1912, he disposed of his farm and took up his abode at 
Columbus, where he is now living retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest. 

On the 22d of December, 1886, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss 
Margaret Williams, a daughter of Henry and Margaret Williams, of Oshkosh. 
He belongs to the Calvanistic Methodist church and is well known as a man of 
upright and exemplary life. He is numbered among the early settlers in this 
section of the state and has been an interested witness of its development. He 
has contributed his share thereto by conducting an enterprise in an intelligent 
and systematic way, his prosperity being an asset in the resources of the state. 



WILLIAM SCHAFER. 

William Schafer is a native son of Wisconsin and has been identified with 
progressive farming in Calamus township for many years. He owns one of 
the finest tracts of land in Dodge county, his farm comprising two hundred 
acres, highly improved and developed, on sections 23 and 26. He has been 
active in its operation and by modern methods has made it a model agricultural 
enterprise, up-to-date and fully equipped. He has now, however, given up his 
active labors and has rented his farm to his nephews although he still makes his 
home upon his land- His birth occurred in Dodge county, March 30, 1854, and 
he is a son of John W. and Sophia (Gantz) Schafer, natives of Germany. The 
father was born in that country in 1821 while the mother's birth occurred in 
1823. They were married in the fatherland and came to America in 1846, 
settling immediately in Lowell, where they remained until 1874. In that year 
they moved to Calamus township, where the father purchased land on section 
24, and carried on successful general farming upon that property until 1895, 
when he disposed of his original holdings and purchased a farm on section 26, 
and there he passed away in March, 1909, being survived by his wife until June, 
191 1. Mr. and Mrs. John Schafer became the parents of seven children: Kate, 
who married Christian Reinhard, of Reesville; William, the subject of this 
sketch; Julia, who became the wife of William Herkcrt of Heaver Dam; Phillip, 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



437 



who died at the age of twenty-six, and is buried in Lowell; Etta, who became 
the wife of Gustave Kranz of Progress; Fred, who married Martha Geutzen, 
and who lives in Calamus township; and Annie, who married Charles Zepp of 
Lowell. 

William Schafer was educated in the public schools of Calamus township. 
He assisted his parents in the operation of the farm until they died and afterward 
took complete charge. He owns two hundred acres on sections 23 and 26, one 
hundred and forty acres of which are under cultivation. He has built all the 
barns and outbuildings and made extensive improvements, carrying on his labors 
along modern and systematic lines. He now leaves the active work of the fields 
to his two nephews to whom he rents his property. 

Mr. Schafer is well known in Calamus township where he has resided for 
thirty-eight years and has a wide acquaintance here. He has won universal trust 
and good-will by reason of a Itfe which in all its phases is straightforward and 
honorable and actuated by high standards of business activity. 



ROBERT F. ROBERTS. 

Robert F. Roberts, secretary and manager of the Randolph Wagon Works 
and one of the most important men in business circles of the village, was born 
in the section in which he is now active, July 12, 1858. He is a descendant of 
an old Welsh family and his grandfather, Robert Roberts, was one of the 
representative citizens of his section in Wales. He was born in 1750 and his 
active life was in quite a measure devoted to the suppression of the liquor traffic 
in his native country. He was twice married and reared eight children. To his 
first marriage were born five, namely, Robert, Thomas, Jane, Ann and Hugh. 
Of the second marriage to Cathrine Foulks, were born to him : David ; Foulk, the 
father -of our subject; and Thomas, named after his deceased half-brother. 
There were forty-nine years between him and his half-brother Robert, and the 
father was seventy-six years of age, when this son was born to him. 

The father of our subject, Foulk R. Roberts, was born in Carnarvonshire, 
Wales, February 14, 1820, and remained in that country until August 20, 1844, 
and two days prior, he was married to Cathrine Owens of the same place, a 
daughter of Griffith and Elizabeth Owens. She was also one of eight children, 
namely, Jane, Sarah, Mary, Cathrine (the mother of our subject), Samuel, 
Esther, Griffith and Ellen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Foulk Roberts, the parents of our subject, together with the 
father's mother and two brothers, David and Thomas, left their native country, 
August 20, 1844, on a ship called Patrick Henry, and came directly to Wisconsin. 
Foulk Roberts located on section 12, Randolph township, Columbia county and 
lived there continually, with the exception of ten months in 1881, when they 
lived in the village of Randolph, until their death. Mrs. Roberts passed away 
June 17, 1902, and Mr. Roberts January 12, igo8, and they are both buried in 
the Blaen-y-Cae cemetery on land which he donated for church and cemetery 
purposes. They became the parents of five children. Cathrine, born January 
1, 1846, married William Parry, of Milwaukee, and makes her home in that city. 



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HISTORY OK DODGE COUNTY 



Her husband was killed in an elevator accident, January 13, 1902, and is buried 
in Randolph. Elizabeth was born September 29, 1849. She married John R. 
Owen, of Elba township, where they have resided since that time. However, 
they are now living in Randolph and expect to make that place their home. 
Sarah, born February 24, 1852, became the wife of Richard P. Wynne, of Mil- 
waukee. She died in that city April 8, 1899, and is buried in Blaen-y-Cac ceme- 
tery. She left one daughter who has been legally adopted by Elizabeth and John 
R. Owen. Mr. Wynne was employed for ten years with Mandcl Brothers and 
later worked in the interests of Gimbel Brothers of Milwaukee. After the death 
of his first wife he married again and returned to Wales, where he now lives. 
Ellen was born November 15, 1854. She married Richard J. Williams and they 
arc living on the old homestead in Randolph township, a tract of land upon 
which her father settled when he first came to America. The youngest son 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Foulk R. Roberts is Robert F., of this review. 

Robert F. Roberts was reared at home and received his education in the 
public schools of Randolph township. For a number of years he followed 
farming and in 1881 settled on a tract of land on section 17, Fox Lake township, 
upon which he resided for four years. At the end of that time he disposed of 
this property and bought the old homestead in Columbia county and for seven- 
teen years gave his entire time and attention to its further improvement and 
development. At the end of that time he sold the farm to his brother-in-law and 
moved into the village of Randolph, where he established himself in the farm 
implement business, drawing his trade almost entirely from local sources. He 
proved himself such an able and efficient business man that in 1902 he was nude 
secretary and manager of the Randolph Wagon Works and has since devoted his 
time to carrying forward the interests of that company. Under his direction the 
capital stock has increased from twelve thousand, five hundred dollars to one 
hundred thousand dollars and the concern has been put upon a paying basis 
This in itself is sufficient proof of Mr. Roberts' executive force and power. 

On September 9, 1880, Mr. Roberts married Miss Margaret A. Jones, second 
daughter of Owen and Ann Jones, who came from their native country of Wales 
in 1847 and settled in Utica, Winnebago county, Wisconsin. They had three 
other children: Catherine, who died in 1899; Daniel A., of Milwaukee; and 
Mary L., who married E. J. Williams, of Randolph. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
have two children. Jeannette was born July 27, 1882, and for several years 
assisted her father as his stenographer and bookkeeper. On October 11, ion, 
she married Bert McCloud, a railroad engineer, but they are now farming her 
father's farm on sections 6 and 7, Fox Lake township. A portion of this farm 
Mr. Roberts of this review inherited from his uncle, Thomas R. Roberts, who 
had owned the property since 1844, when he purchased it from the United States 
government. He named it Blaen-y-Cae, meaning first of the field, after his 
family's old homestead in Wales. He spent his declining years with Mr. Roberts 
of this sketch and died January 26, 1912. He is buried in Blaen-y-Cae cemetery, 
by the side of his mother, Cathrine (Foulks) Roberts, with whom he had 
located on his farm and with whom he had lived until her death in 1871. {Cather- 
ine, the second child born to Mr. and Mrs- Robert F. Roberts, was born July 
24, 1887. She was graduated from the Milwaukee Normal School and afterward 
taught for five years in the primary department of the school of Randolph. On 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



439 



September 18, 1912, she married Everett H. Gilmore and they are living on the 
Gilmore homestead, Courtland township, Columbia County. Mr. and Mrs. 
Roberts were for many years adherents of the Welsh Calvinist Methodist church 
and retained their connection with it until 1901, when they joined the Methodist 
Episcopal church of Randolph. 

Fraternally Mr. Roberts belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Equitable 
Fraternal Union. He is a republican in national politics but on local questions 
votes the prohibition ticket and supports earnestly and consistently the principles 
and policies of prohibition. He has held many township offices but is not 
ambitious to extend his political activity, preferring to devote his entire time to 
his business interests, which are capably conducted, making him one of the 
leading men of Randolph. 



JOHN S. LIGHTNER. 

The life and activities of John S. Lightner have been identified with a very 
interesting period in the development of the middle western states and have 
covered a time which is unique in the history of the growth of Dodge county. 
He has seen Randolph grow from an unorganized village into one of the most 
flourishing communities in this part of the state and for many years has been 
one of the greatest factors in the expansion of its industrial, professional and 
trade relations. The history of his active and enterprising career illustrates the 
character of his interests and the forceful quality of the man who made them 
effective. Mr. Lightner was born September 12, 1839, in Huntingdon county, 
Pennsylvania. His father, Adam Lightner, was also a native of that section, 
born in 1810, in the same house in which the birth of his son occurred. Thl 
grandfather of our subject was a native of Holland and emigrated to America, 
leaving a brother in his native land, who became a wealthy business man in that 
country, and died possessed of an estate valued at fourteen million dollars, which 
on account of no resident relatives in that country went into chancery, the gov- 
ernment claiming the estate. Adam Lightner died in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, 
in 1906, when he was ninety-six years of age. His wife was in her maidenhood 
Miss Eliza Stryker, a native of New Jersey, from which state she came to 
Pennsylvania, where her marriage occurred. Besides the subject of this sketch 
eight children were born to this union. William E., the second son, married 
Miss Lettie Boyer. He is associate judge of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, 
where he now resides. The third living son, Addison, is a pharmacist in Ran- 
dolph. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Lettie Epley. Calvin R. Lightner, 
the fourth son has been for twenty-five years a practicing physician in St. Louis, 
Missouri. He married Miss Allie Elliot of that city. The fifth son born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Adam Lightner is Mahlon, who married Miss Jessie Clute, a daughter 
of Colonel Clute, of Schenectady, New York. The latter built some of the 
iron-clads which were used in the Civil war. Mahlon T., resided in South 
Dakota for several years, was a member of the state senate, and is now living 
in Los Angeles. California. Edward E. died in West Township, Pennsylvania, 
and is buried in that section. Flora A. married S. C. Gilbaugh and lives in 



440 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Grafton, Pennsylvania. Mary E. became the wife of Doctor Quinn, of Brock- 
wayville, Pennsylvania. One child died at the age of six years. 

John S. Lightner, the eldest son, studied in the Mooresville Collegiate Institute 
in Mooresville, Pennsylvania, and received his diploma in i860. At the close 
ol the school year he came west with three of his fellow students and stopped at 
Huntington, Indiana, on his way to Memphis, Tennessee, where he expected to 
teach school. He intended also to meet his uncle, Joseph Stryker, who was 
afterward appointed by Abraham Lincoln American consul at Fernambuco, Brazil. 
Mr. Lightner remained in Huntington for five weeks and during that time the 
Civil war broke out and his uncle wrote him not to continue his journey, as all 
the teachers in the southern states were going north. Mr. Lightner accordingly 
remained in Indiana and made his home with the Rev. Richard Currin, a friend 
of his father. In company with Mr. Currin's brother-in-law, Doctor Bartine, 
he prepared a lecture, entitled: "The Past, Present and Future," and in Fort 
Wayne, Indiana, purchased a magic lantern outfit with which to illustrate his 
talk. The two partners traveled extensively, going first to Balkin schoolhouse on 
the Mad river, Ohio, and from there they traveled along the Miami river through 
the state until winter set in. At the end of the season Doctor Bartine purchased 
Mr. Lightner's interest in this business and the latter then purchased an interest 
in an auction wagon and after closing out the auction business taught school for 
three months in Sadorus, Illinois- This was at the time when wild cat money 
was in circulation all over the United States. In Illinois Mr. Lightner possessed 
a supply of Wisconsin currency and with it came to Wisconsin to dispose of it 
to better advantage. He went to Ripon and there met Doctor Baker, a graduate 
physician and pharmacist, under whom he studied medicine and pharmacy and 
practiced both professions for six months. At the end of that time he persuaded 
Doctor Baker to remove to Randolph, being influenced in this by the opportunities 
which the newly organized village afforded and the attractive aspects of the sur- 
rounding country. The partners finally established themselves in the drug busi- 
ness in Randolph, also practicing medicine, but the many hardships which this 
entailed led to the dissolution of their association, Mr. Lightner retaining the 
drug business. Doctor Baker afterward moved to Nebraska and died in that 
state. Gradually Mr. Lightner became identified with other important business 
interests in Randolph and his prosperity is intimately connected with the develop- 
ment of the town. Under Cleveland's administration he was appointed post- 
master and held that office for two terms, after which he served for twenty-one 
consecutive terms as treasurer of the city, giving to his fellow citizens a progres- 
sive, upright and straightforward administration. 

In 1873 Mr. Lightner married Miss Eva Richmond, a daughter of Riley S. 
Richmond, of Randolph, president of the first canning factory ever established 
in the city. Mrs. Lightner died in 1906. Mr. Lightner is prominent and well 
known in the Masonic order, holding membership in the blue lodge at Fox Lake, 
which he joined in 1862; in the chapter, at Beaver Dam, which he joined in 1868; 
and in the commandery at Portage, with which he became identified in 1892. He 
is also a Knights Templar at Beaver Dam. He is now in the seventy-fourth year 
of his age but in spirit and interests seems yet in his prime. He is proud of the 
city, in the general expansion of which he has been active and prominent, and 



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he is loyal to the institutions and traditions which he has seen established and 
developed. His many friends in Randolph honor him not only for his business 
connections, which are extensive, and his success, which is undoubted, but for 
the energy, honesty, integrity and high-mindedness which made those connections 
lasting and the success well merited 



ANDREW A. WASHBURN. 

As a keen and discriminating business man, an able politician, and above all, 
a loyal and public-spirited citizen, Andrew A. Washburn is entitled to the pros- 
perity he is now enjoying and to the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. 
He unites in his career success in the real-estate business and in local journalism 
with able and competent work as an alderman. His paper, the Horicon Re- 
porter, is becoming an increasingly important organ in the community and its 
affairs are ably administered from an editorial and business point of view. Mr. 
Washburn was born in the city in which he now resides on September 15, 1873, 
and is a son of Simon and Ernestina (Discher) Washburn. His father was born 
near Montpelier, Vermont, December 13, 1816, and he moved to New York in 
his early youth. He spent some years employed in a smelter in that section but 
came west in 1849, locating first in Oak Grove, Wisconsin, from whence after 
two years he came to Horicon, where for a short time he engaged in the iron 
smelting business. Soon after he took up a preemption claim of one hundred and 
twenty acres in Williamstown, one mile north of Horicon, and engaged in farm- 
ing until he was seventy years of age. He then sold his holdings and moved 
into the town where he lived retired until his death which occurred in Septem- 
ber, 1901. His wife was a native of Pomerania, Germany, where her birth 
occurred on February 12, 1838. She is now residing with the subject of this 
sketch. She and her husband became the parents of four children: Charles H., 
who is a farmer and stockman of Polk county, Wisconsin; Emily, who has 
passed away ; Freda, who married Carl Grashorn a farmer of Greenwood, 
Clark county, who was one of the first to engage in the creamery business in 
the state; and Andrew, the subject of this sketch. 

Andrew A. Washburn received his early education in the Horicon public 
schools and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1893. He 
attended afterward the Milwaukee State Normal and finished the course in 1897. 
He supplemented this by one year at the University of Wisconsin and has had 
the advantage of an excellent education. He made wise use of his opportunities 
in this line and fitted himself for teaching. In 1908 he obtained the position as 
principal of the Rio school and after one year was engaged as a traveling sales- 
man. On January 17, 1900, he purchased a half interest in The Reporter, and a 
few months later bought the entire plant and has devoted himself to the opera- 
tion of this paper since that time. He is a true journalist, alive to the important 
phases of the day's events with an instinct for news and with an editorial facility 
in pointing out its bearing and importance. His business discrimination has 
made his enterprise successful and the circulation of his paper has increased 
from four hundred to over three times that number. Mr. Washburn is also 



442 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



engaged in the real-estate business and owns several valuable business buildings 
and also a farm near Horicon which he operates himself. He has platted a part 
of this land into town lots under the name of the Turner addition, and is inter- 
ested in its upbuilding and improvement. 

On October 17, 1900, Mr. Washburn was united in marriage to Miss Jessie 
Chapman, who was born in Hartford, Wisconsin, October 20, 1875. She is a 
daughter of Wallace W. and Lydia (Wilcox) Chapman. Her father was in 
early life a carpenter and held the position as head of the St. Paul Railroad crew 
for twenty-four years, resigning to accept the office of postmaster in Horicon, 
in which capacity he acted until his death which occurred July 1, 1905. He was 
a veteran of the Civil war and served as a member of Company E, Tenth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Infantry. He spent nineteen months in Andersonville and 
Libby prisons and served until the end of the war. To him and his wife were 
born three children: Edgar, who was formerly identified with the St. Paul rail- 
road at Green Bay, Wisconsin, as train dispatcher, but who is now deceased; 
Jessie, the wife of our subject; and Harry, who resides in Horicon and who is 
assisting in the operation of The Horicon Reporter. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Washburn has been a progressive republican. 
He served as delegate to the republican state convention in 1900 when La Fol- 
lette was first nominated as governor. In 1904 he was elected to the office of 
city clerk. He is now a member of the city council, serving his second term in 
this office. He was appointed by the governor in January, 191 1, to represent 
this congressional district at the convention of the National Tariff Commission 
Association at Washington, D. C. He brings to public life the same ability and 
conscientiousness which have distinguished his business and journalistic career 
and have made him successful in both. He is affiliated with Horicon Lodge, No. 
87, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Modern Woodmen of 
America, while Mrs. Washburn is a member of the Rebekahs. There is no man 
in Horicon more loyal to the community and to its institutions and more eager 
and capable of promoting its progress. He is vice president of the Advance- 
ment Association and his strenuous and effective work has been a factor in the 
development of the city. He was instrumental in getting for Horicon its water- 
works plant, and was among the first to agitate the question. He is an active 
force in politics and business and with whatever phase of life he is Connected 
is sure to have a distinct and improving influence in the progress of the city. • 



Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet Claron Arthur Markham 
has made continuous progress since admitted to practice. His success has been 
based upon thorough preliminary training and careful preparation of his cases 
since entering actively upon the work of the courts. Wisconsin claims him as 
a native son, his birth having occurred in Independence, this state, on the 3d of 
January, 1878. His parents were Arthur A. and Rose C. (Bishop) Markham, 
the former born in England in 1830, and the latter in Wisconsin. The mother 
was a daughter of Dr. Collins Bishop, who at one time resided near Horicon, 



CLARON ARTHUR MARKHAM. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



443 



and was a pioneer physician in this district. The Markham family traces its his- 
tory back to 1066, A. D., when Ctaron De Markham went from Normandy to 
England with William the Conqueror and was given estates in the latter country. 
The family includes a former bishop of York, who figured in early English his- 
tory, and many other members of prominence, among them Sir Clemments R. 
Markham, until recently president of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 
Arthur A. Markham is a brother of Admiral Sir Albert H. Markham, K. C. B., 
of London, who has won fame as a geographer and arctic explorer. For a 
quarter of a century he held the record of "farthest north," made in 1876, when 
he reached latitude eighty-three degrees, twenty minutes and twenty-six seconds. 
It was not until 1896 that Fridtjof Nansen reached a point farther north and 
until 1902 that the Duke D'Abruzzi reached a point beyond that. Admiral 
Markham made four voyages in search of the north pole, being in command 
of the expeditions. He held the highest rank in the British navy and was sec- 
ond to the lord of the admiralty. He participated in the Chinese war and in 
many naval engagements and was retired as admiral of the fleet of the British 
navy. He has written seven or eight geographical and biographical works and 
is considered one of the world's authorities upon the subjects of which he treats. 

Arthur A. Markham came to the United States in 1856 with his parents, 
Captain John and Marianne G. D. Markham, the former at one time connected 
with the English navy. Proceeding into the interior of the country, Captain 
Markham settled in the wilderness, at what is now Independence, Wisconsin, 
where he subsequently lived retired. His son Arthur became connected with 
agricultural pursuits, to which he devoted many years but is now living retired 
at Independence. 

In their family were six children. John A., a graduate of the University of 
Minnesota, practiced law in partnership with his brother Claron from 1901 
until 1905 and is now living in Independence, where he is filling the office of dis- 
trice attorney. Claron A. is the second of the family; Marianne is at home; 
Frederick is living on the old home farm at Independence; William H., also a 
graduate of the University of Minnesota, is now a practicing attorney residing 
at St. Charles, Minnesota; Blanche, who completes the family, is also at home. 

At the usual age Claron A. Markham entered the public schools, pursuing 
his studies through consecutive grades until he became a high-school student. 
He afterward engaged in teaching for two years and subsequently studied law 
in the University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated in 1901, the same 
year in which his brother John completed his course. They came to Beaver 
Dam on the 19th of July, of that year and C. A. Markham has since practiced 
in this city, his ability winning him recognition in a large, growing and distinctly 
representative clientage. He is strong in his pleadings, his arguments are force- 
ful and his deductions follow in logical sequence. He has financial interests here 
as one of the stockholders of the German National Bank. 

On the 20th of October, 1904, Mr. Markham was married to Miss Mary E. 
Westfall, of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and they have a daughter, Muriel G. 
D., at home. Mrs. Markham is a member of the First Presbyterian church and 
Mr. Markham has fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and the Eagles. His political views accord with the principles of democ- 
racy but while probably not without that laudable ambition which is the in- 



444 HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 

centive to all faithful service in public office, he regards the pursuits of private 
life as abundantly worthy of his best efforts and concentrates his time and 
energies upon his professional duties in a manner that has made his fidelity 
to the interests of his clients proverbial. 



MARTIN L. LUECK. 

The present irfcumbent of the office of circuit judge, Martin L. Lueck, has 
for some years past been recognized as one of the foremost representatives 
of the Juneau bar, and during this period he has also figured prominently in 
local politics. The success which has come to him has been fraught with the 
usual difficulties encountered by the man who strives to establish himself in 
the professional circles of his native town, and is therefore deserving of greater 
commendation, as it has been won on the sheer strength of thoroughly tried 
and tested merit. His birth occurred here on the 24th of July, 1872, his par- 
ents being Frederick W. and Wilhelmina (Schauer) Lueck, natives of Ger- 
many, and well known residents of Juneau, whose history is more fully given 
elsewhere in this work. 

Reared at home, Martin L. Lueck was given the advantages of the local 
schools, where he pursued his education until graduated from the high school. 
He subsequently engaged in teaching, and having resolved to adopt the legal 
profession for his life vocation, he later matriculated in the law department of 
the University of Wisconsin, receiving his degree with the class of 1894. Im- 
mediately thereafter he returned home and established an office as a general 
practitioner. Although he was only twenty-two years of age, he was known to 
be a young man of serious purpose, who earnestly and diligently applied himself 
of the general principles of jurisprudence and his ready grasp of legal tech- 
nicalities shortly enabled him to win the confidence of local business men. Step 
by step he fought his way, his carefully prepared cases and an able manner of 
presenting and defending his points gradually winning him the recognition 
which formed the foundation of his now well established reputation. Four 
years enabled him to manifest his worth and general efficiency and in 1898 he 
was elected to the office of district attorney. He retained this position for four 
years and he also served with efficiency as city attorney and mayor, being iden- 
tified with the latter office from 1006 until he assumed his present duties. He 
has proven entirely adequate to the demands of his position, and is acquitting him- 
self in a manner highly satisfactory to his constituency and the community at 
large. His decisions manifest a careful deliberation of the points at issue 
united with a broad yet just application of the law. 

On the 9th of May, 1904, Mr. Lueck was united in marriage to Miss Hedwig 
Kuentzel, whose natal day was the 31st of May, 1871. She is a daughter of 
William G. and Caroline (Koeding) Kuentzel, natives of Germany, who for 
some years were residents of Illinois. From there they came to Wisconsin, 
settling at Lowell, this county, whence they later removed to Juneau, locating 
here about 1885. The father, who is a minister, has ever since been pastor of 



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the German Reformed church of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Kuentzel had two 
children, the elder of whom, Paul G., is now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Lueck 
there have been born three daughters: Ruth, whose birth occurred on the 14th 
of April, 1905; Dorothy, whose natal day was March 14, 1908; and May, who 
was born on May I, 191 2. 

The parents are members of the German Reformed church and fraternally 
Mr. Lueck is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a demo- 
crat in his political views and stanchly supports the candidates of that party. 
His interests are not entirely confined to his profession but are extended to va- 
rious local business enterprises, chief among these being the Oak Point Farms, 
of which he is one of the owners. Mr. Lueck's career both as an attorney 
and a politician has been of an exceptionally high standard, his integrity and 
reliability being above question. His reputation is that of a man whose first 
consideration is for the interest of his clients, while his loyalty to his public 
duties is too well known to call for comment but is well deserving of the com- 
mendation he is generally accorded. He is hightly respected in local profes- 
sional circles and is a member of the County, State and National Bar Asso- 
ciations. 



JOHN DICKINSON. 

John Dickinson, an agriculturist who makes a specialty of dairying, owns and 
operates a farm of one hundred and sixteen acres in Chester township, which is 
the place on which he was born on the 15th of December, 1857. His parents 
were Benjamin and Margaret (Cowell) Dickinson, the former born in England 
in 1S16 and the latter on the Isle of Man on the 3d of May, 1820. Benjamin 
Dickinson emigrated to the United States when about sixteen years of age — 
about the same time that Margaret Cowell came to this country with her par- 
ents. The maternal grandparents of our subject settled in Dodge county, across 
the road from the present home farm of John Dickinson. The parents of Mr. 
Dickinson of this review were married in the east and thence came to this county, 
settling on the place where he now resides. Benjamin Dickinson purchased this 
farm of forty acres from his father-in-law, who later lived with him. Both he 
and his wife continued to reside thereon throughout the remainder of their lives, 
his demise occurring on the 15th of August, 1881, while Mrs. Dickinson passed 
away on the 22d of October, 1898. To them were born six children, of whom 
George and Lester died in infancy. William ran away from home as a youth of 
sixteen, made his way to Chicago and enlisted for service in the Union army as 
a member of the Sixteenth Illinois Cavalry, remaining with that command for 
three years. His demise occurred on the 10th of September, 1897. Libby, who 
is now deceased, was twice married, her first husband being James Meade, by 
whom she had two children : George, who has passed away; and William. After 
Mr. Meade's demise she became the wife of David Kiley. Eugene is an agricul- 
turist residing at Clarissa, Minnesota. 

John Dickinson, the other member of the family, obtained his education in 
this county and worked on the home farm with his father until the lattcr's death. 



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A few years later he purchased the property, comprising one hundred and six- 
teen acres, in the further cultivation and improvement of which he has been 
engaged continuously since. He has seventeen head of high-grade cattle and 
specializes in dairying, this branch of his business yielding him a gratifying an- 
nual income. 

Mr. Dickinson was united in marriage in 1882 to Miss Anna Huth, a daugh- 
ter of John and Anstein (Listen) Huth, both of whom were born in Germany 
and emigrated to the United States following their marriage, settling in May- 
ville. Dodge county, Wisconsin. Subsequently they took up their abode near the 
home of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have two children. Margaret, 
who was born in 1882, gave her hand in marriage to Carl Burns and makes her 
home at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. She is the mother of two children, Hollis, 
whose natal day was December 24, 1908; and Ruby Elizabeth, born September 
2i, 1912. Clyde Dickinson, who was born on the 14th of July, 1896, is still under 
the parental roof. 

, Mr. Dickinson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has 
ably served in the capacity of township supervisor for a period of sixteen years. 
Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belong- 
ing to Tululah Lodge, No. 33. He is greatly interested in hunting, indulging 
his love of that sport each year in the north woods. Mr. Dickinson is a man of 
intelligence and high standards of conduct, whose success is the result of in- 
dustry and close application. He is held in high regard in the community where 
he has been known from boyhood and numbers among his closest friends many 
of the comrades of his school days. 



The career of J. D. O'Brien of Randolph well illustrates the value of energy, 
ambition and honesty in insuring success. The undoubted prosperity which he 
enjoys is directly traceable to his possession of these qualities and to his recogni- 
tion and use of an early business opportunity which they brought him. His busi- 
ness consists of buying and selling farm lands and residence property in Dodge 
county and in this connection he has influenced the development of real-estate 
values in this section of the state. He is one of the many energetic, successful, 
and progressive men whom Ireland has given to America in such great numbers. 
He was born in County Tipperary, in 1852, a son of John and Margaret (De- 
laney) O'Brien, both of whom lived and died in Ireland. They had four chil- 
dren, among them Michael, who was born in 1854, married Miss Jennie Fleming 
and now resides in Burnett county, and J. D., our subject. After the death of 
her first husband, the mother of our subject married Patrick Gleason and to this 
union were born four children: William, Patrick, Katherine, and Bridget. All 
these came to America ; three reside in Auburn, New York, and the other lives 
in Toronto, Canada. 

J. D. O'Brien remained in Ireland until he was twelve years old, coming to 
America in 1866 with his grandmother and aunt, and locating in Auburn, New 
York, where he remained for seven years. For a portion of this time he worked 



J. D. O'BRIEN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



447 



upon a farm and was employed in a carriage and dry-goods store. He also ped- 
dled milk in Auburn, but abandoned this occupation before he came to Lost 
Lake, Wisconsin. There he worked for one year upon a farm and after that 
time came to Randolph, where he engaged in the same kind of work and then 
returned to Lost Lake, where for two more years he was employed in farm labor. 
He then bought a store at Lost Lake and for twenty-four years was engaged in 
business in this place, serving as postmaster of the town for sixteen years during 
this period. That he was well thought of and had made many friends is evident 
by the fact that he had to borrow sufficient money to buy his first bill of groceries 
when he started up in business and easily obtained the money from Michael 
McCrea, who willingly let him have a sufficient sum to launch him in his new 
departure. Mr. O'Brien has never forgotten this kindly act and is still appre- 
ciative of the confidence reposed in him. From Lost Lake he came 'to Randolph 
and opened up a store at this place, which he still owns. However, he gives most 
of his time to buying and selling real estate and has become prominent in this 
connection. There was another friend, a Mr. Richmond of Randolph, who gave 
him substantial aid in his career and who let him have enough money to purchase 
ten acres of timber land. The money was loaned without security and as an 
acknowledgment to Mr. O'Brien's well known integrity, and with this money he 
bought this property, cleared the timber and paid back his debt little by little. 
This gave him another impetus on his business career and was one of the corner- 
stones upon which was founded his success, which now places him among the 
deservedly prosperous men of the city. 

In 1876 Mr. O'Brien was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Goodwin, and to 
their union were born four children, two of whom died in infancy and are buried 
in St. Mary's cemetery in Lost Lake. The oldest living child is Elizabeth, who 
was born in 1877, ar >d wno married Lawrence Reak. They live upon a farm in 
Courtland township, Columbia county. John Edward was born in 1891 and lives 
in Madison. He is a graduate of the State University and is engaged in the drug 
business. The family belong to St. Mary's Roman Catholic church at Lost 
Lake, but attend a church of the same denomination at Fox Lake. 

Mr. O'Brien gives his allegiance to the democratic party, and for fourteen 
years held the office of town treasurer of Westford, his able and effective work 
being evidenced by his long period of service. He is a typical example of the self- 
made man, whose first assets were his industry and honesty and he has worked 
himself upward until his success is assured. The secret of that prosperity lies 
in two things, the ability to use opportunities and the qualities of brain and 
character which command them. 



CHARLES W. HATHAWAY. 

Charles W. Hathaway is a descendant of a fine old American family, his 
ancestral line dating back to prerevolutionary times. He exemplifies in his 
character the sturdy and energetic virtues of his forefathers and is making his 
life which has been devoted to progressive farming, useful and valuable as well 
as upright and worthy. He is a native son of Dodge county, having been born 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



upon the farm which he now operates on May II, 1869. He is a son of Charles 
W. and Julia Ann (Smith) Hathaway, natives of Lewis county, New York, 
and is a descendant of Trumbull Smith, who lived in that section during the 
Revolutionary war. He was one of triplets, all of whom lived to be old men. 
When they were born General Washington asked for the privilege of naming 
them and acted as their godfather. He called one after himself, another after 
his friend General Greene of the Continental army and the third in honor of 
Governor Trumbull. The first to settle in Wisconsin was Charles W. Hathaway, 
the father of our subject. He came to this state about the year 1845 m tne 
early days of its settlement and purchased forty acres in Beaver Dam township 
which constitutes a part of the present farm operated by our subject. He enlisted 
in the Civil war in Company F, First Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry and served 
for three years. After his discharge he returned to Beaver Dam and settled upon 
his property on section 36, where he carried on general farming until his death, 
which occurred in 1877. His wife is still upon the homestead in the eighty-fifth 
year of her age. 

Charles W. Hathaway, our subject, was reared at home and was educated 
in the district schools of Dodge county. He has never left his father's farm 
and is now active in the operation of the original homestead and its additions. 
He owns one hundred and twenty acres of land all of which is under cultivation. 
Upon this property he does general fanning, specializing in the raising of 
potatoes which he sells in the Wisconsin markets. He also engages in stock- 
raising and operates a model and sanitary dairy, keeping sixteen high-grade 
cows for this purpose and selling his product to the neighboring cheese factory. 
He has a number of acres of his land planted in hay and in barley and other 
grains and has his fields divided conveniently by barbed wire fences. He feeds 
and fattens high-grade Holstein cattle, disposing of all his grain in this way, 
with the exception of his barley which he sells. In 1886 he erected a fine barn 
one hundred feet long by thirty feet wide, built along the most modern lines of 
construction, equipped with cement floors and all modern accessories. All the 
improvements which make Mr. Hatha way's farm a model and up-to-date enter- 
prise were made by himself or by his father. He is successful as an agriculturist 
because his methods are always practical and progressive and he has been rewarded 
for his energy and determination by a gratifying degree of prosperity. 

In 1888 Mr. Hathaway was united in marriage to Miss Carrie D. Hennig, a 
daughter of Christian and Georgiana ( Snickenburger) Hennig, the former a 
native of Switzerland and the latter of Germany. They came to America in 
early life settling in Dodge county where the father took an active part in 
political life for some time, holding various public offices. He passed away in 
1886 and was survived by his wife until 1910. Mrs. Hathaway was the second 
of eight children born to their union, her natal day being April 21, 1866. She 
and her husband have four children: Nelson, who resides in Beaver Dam; 
Clarence R., a resident of Hartford; Charles W., who is married and makes his 
home in Waterloo, Iowa; and Martha G., who lives at home. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Hathaway is a stanch republican and has 
always taken an intelligent interest in the affairs of his community. He served 
for one year as township assessor and in 1910 was United States census enumer- 
ator in Beaver Dam township. He is interested in education and for five years 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



was a member of the school board, serving as clerk and director of that body. 
His life has been principally devoted to agricultural pursuits and his farming 
has been successful from the beginning. He learned the rudiments of the 
occupation by personal experience and hard work upon his father's property and 
became acquainted at an early date with the most approved methods of cultiva- 
tion and with the details necessary to the management of an up-to-date agricultural 
enterprise. He has devoted his entire time to making his farm modern and 
up-to-date in every particular and has attained a degree of success which is the 
outcome of his intelligence and industry. 



JOHN REYNOLDS JONES, M. D. 

Dr. John Reynolds Jones has been practicing medicine in Randolph for over 
twenty-five years and is one of the jnost prominent and popular physicians of 
that city. During his active years he built up a large and flourishing practice, 
his scientific efficiency and personal qualifications being known and recognized, 
but of late years he has confined himself principally to office work, having turned 
over the more arduous duties to his son. He was born near Bala, Wales, October 
6, 1851, a son of John Jones, whose birth occurred in the same section in April, 
1808. The father never came to America, but died in Wales in 1864. In his 
family were six children. Eleanor, the eldest child, married David Jones and 
lived in Wales until her death, which occurred in 1909. She had two sons, one 
of whom is residing in South Africa, and the other is teaching in Bangor, Wales. 
Jane, Edward, Elizabeth and Margaret, the youngest members of the family, 
died of typhoid fever, two of them being buried in one day. 

Dr. John R. Jones remained in his native country until he was nineteen 
years of age and his education was received in its public schools. Crossing the 
Atlantic in 1870 he settled first in Utica, New York, whence after one year he 
came to Evanston, Illinois, where he conducted a drug store during the winter. 
In the spring of the same year he returned to Utica and there became connected 
with the photographic business as an employe for Mr. Pillsbury. From Utica 
he went to Savannah, Georgia, and from Savannah to Liverpool, England, arriv- 
ing in Liverpool, January, 1872. In the same year he went to Carnarvon, Wales, 
and was there employed in a drug store, having become an expert pharmacist 
in his youth. Returning to America soon he settled in Racine, Wisconsin, in 
May, 1872, and there established himself in the drug business, conducting the 
fifth store of this kind in the city. This enterprise he managed for some time 
but finally sold it in order to take up the study of medicine. He entered Rush 
Medical College in Chicago, but completed his studies in the University of Iowa 
from which institution he was graduated in 1878, with the degree of M. D. 
For three months he practiced at Fox Lake and went from there to Fall river, 
Wisconsin, settling in that city, October 1, 1878. There he remained until 1883 
in which year he moved to Racine, and after two years in that city went to 
Emporia, Kansas. While in Racine, Wisconsin, he was commissioned assistant 
surgeon of the Wisconsin National Guards. He was engaged in the general 
practice of medicine in Emporia, Kansas, until July, 1887, when he moved to 



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Randolph and has followed his profession in this city since that time. His skill, 
knowledge, and efficiency are beyond all question and they have been proven 
by over a quarter of a century of successful labor and are attested by his popu- 
larity among his patients and fellow practitioners. A keen student of the under- 
lying principles of medicine Dr. Jones has added to his technical knowledge the 
practical experience which makes it effective and his work is of a lasting and 
useful kind which is always the result of a life spent in the service of others. 

On October i, 1872, Dr. Jones was married in Racine, to Miss Mary Ann 
Peate, a daughter of William Peate, of Wales. They became the parents of 
six children. The eldest son, Edward, was born July 8, 1873, and died in Septem- 
ber, 1874. He is buried in Racine*. Catherine, whose birth occurred September 
24, 1874, married William J. Williams, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Arthur Wil- 
liam is associated with his father in the practice of medicine. He is a twin of 
Otto John, born August 14, 1876. Both live at home. The fifth child born to 
Dr. and Mrs. Jones is Mary Jane. Her birth occurred in January, 1881, and 
she is the wife of Edward W. Brandel, cashier of the Randolph Bank. J. I., 
the youngest child, was born in April, 1887. He is a graduate pharmacist, hold- 
ing the degree from the State University at Madison and he passed his examina- 
tion before the Wisconsin state board before he was twenty-one years of age. 
He is now in the employ of John S. Lightner, of Randolph. 

Dr. Jones has now practically given up his extensive practice and has turned 
it over to his son Arthur William, who is associated with him. The latter 
attends to all calls and to the more arduous duties, his father confining himself 
to a small office practice. 

Dr. Jones, although he is intelligently interested in the growth and develop- 
ment of Randolph, takes no active part in politics. He is a member of the 
Masonic order and of the Knights of Pythias and is also prominent in the affairs 
of the Odd Fellows. He does not belong to any religion but states that "the 
world is his church." . He was one of the early physicians in Randolph and has 
seen the village develop and grow. His work has been a factor in its progress 
and, although it has been of an unostentatious kind, it has brought him wide- 
spread popularity and well deserved success. 



Andrew Frank was born October 31, 1864, in Washington county, this state, 
and resides on a highly productive farm of two hundred and forty acres on sec- 
tions 33 and 34, Trenton township. He follows farming along progressive and 
up-to-date lines and has attained well merited success. He specializes in dairying 
giving a great deal of care and attention to the details of this branch of his activi- 
ties, and also breeds hogs and heavy draft horses. He has made nearly all of the 
improvements on his property and his farm stands today as a monument to his 
industry, perseverance and progressiveness. His parents were John and Christina 
(Barngesser) Frank, natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, born near the Rhein. 
They were married in the fatherland and came to America on their wedding trip 



ANDREW FRANK. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



453 



in 1856, settling in the town of Hartford, Washington county, Wisconsin, where 
the father bought forty acres of unbroken land. He cleared his tract and put it 
under cultivation, making his home thereon until the fall of 1873, when he bought 
seventy acres, about one and a half miles north of his first farm, and moved on 
this property, residing there today in his eightieth year. The mother passed away 
in 1891, at the age of sixty-three years, and is buried in the Hartford cemetery. 

Andrew Frank was seventh in order of birth in a family of eleven children. 
He was reared at home and received his education in the district schools of the 
neighborhood. He made himself useful on his father's farm, where he became 
acquainted with proficient methods of agriculture, until he reached his majority, 
when he left the parental roof to seek employment. He entered the service of 
an ice company and was so employed for eight years. In 1890 he came to Dodge 
county and settled upon eighty acres of land, which form part of the place upon 
which he now resides. He did not buy this land outright but acquired it by pur- 
chase two years after he made his residence thereon and has since then added to 
it from time to time until the farm now comprises two hundred and forty acres. 
Beside this valuable property he is also the owner of eighty acres in the town of 
Rock, Wood county. Mr. Frank settled on the former property shortly after his 
marriage and has been here engaged in general farming ever since. All of his land 
is ready for the plow except three acres, which is in valuable timber. He follows 
general farming and engages extensively in stock-raising. He has a herd of thirty- 
two cows, which he milks for his dairy, and he also breeds for the market. He 
raises pure-bred Chester White hogs and also breeds to Belgian and Percheron 
horses. All of the grain and hay which he raises on the farm is used for feeding 
his stock. In 1910 he built on his place a handsome, modern residence of thir- 
teen rooms, equipped with running water, cold and hot, using the latter also for 
heating purposes. In 1905 he built a thoroughly modern and sanitary barn, forty 
by one hundred feet with cement floors, and in 1907 constructed a silo. The 
water supply for the farm is derived from drilled wells, which are operated by 
gasoline engines. All the improvements upon his property were placed thereon 
by our subject and are due to his indefatigable labor and industry. 

Mr. Frank was married, September 23, 1890, to Miss Bertha H. J. Kolell, a 
daughter of August and Henrietta (Hildebrand) Kolell, who were natives of 
Germany and were married in this county. The mother passed away in 1882, at 
the early age of thirty-eight, and found her last resting place in the Lutheran 
cemetery in the town of Herman. The father makes his home at Columbus, Wis- 
consin, with a daughter, having attained the age of sixty-nine years. Mrs. Frank 
was the eldest of eleven children and was born February 6, 1865. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Frank six children have been born, namely: William, born July 19, 1891, at 
home; Mary, who died aged fifteen months; Oscar, born November 11, 1896, at 
home; Benjamin, who died in infancy; August, born December 8, 1898, at home; 
and Elsie, who died at the age of two years. 

Mr. Frank is a republican and has always taken a deep interest in local public 

affairs, especially those of an educational character. He has served for fifteen 

years on the school board and has been filling the position of treasurer of this board 

for nine years. For seven years he has been statistical commissioner. Mr. Frank 

and his family arc faithful members of the Lutheran church of Fox Lake, in the 

affairs of which they take an active interest. Mr. Frank has not only gained 
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454 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



material success for himself but, as his work has been along lines which have made 
for progress in agricultural methods, it Has been a factor in the general develop- 
ment of this section and his labors have been of unquestioned benefit to the com- 
munity. His public spirit is widely recognized and all who know him esteem and 
honor him for his qualities of heart and mind. 



John Clifford, who for the past five years has been efficiently discharging the 
duties of clerk of the courts, is another of Dodge county's estimable native sons, 
who as a private citizen and public servant, Has rendered the community worthy 
and commendable service. He was borri in Emmet township on the 5th of 
November, 1873, and in both the paternal and maternal lines represents families 
who were actively identified with the early agricultural development of the 
county. His grandfather, John Clifford, was a native of Ireland, but he emi- 
grated to America in early life, first settling in New York and later residing in 
Canada for eight years. He was one of the pioneer settlers of the town of 
Emmet, in what is now the sixth ward of Watertowrl. Later he took up a farm 
four miles north of Emmet. He was a man of energy and cooperated with his 
fellow settlers in forwarding the progress of the community by assisting in the 
development of the roads and the various other public utilities. While the family 
lived in Watertown, on September 20, 1844, was born his son Dominic, the father 
of our subject and one of the well known residents of Juneau. Upon attaining 
his manhood, he also directed his energies along agricultural lines, engaging in 
general farming and stock-raising until 1886, when he came to Juneau and 
engaged in the saloon business, which he conducted until 1891. In the latter 
year he withdrew from active business and has since been living retired. He 
chose for his wife Miss Ellen Kelly to whom he was married on the 25th of 
January. 1872. She is also a native of Dodge county, her birth having occurred 
on the 8th of November, 1850. To them have been born six children: Michael 
William and Dominic Francis, proprietors and editors of The Independent ; 
John, our subject; Eugene A., city attorney of Juneau; Julia who is living at 
home; and a son, Edward, who died in infancy in i88t. Mr. Clifford, the father, 
is a progressive democrat and has always taken an active and helpful interest in 
local politics, and while residing in Emmet township held various offices, includ- 
ing that of chairman for four years. Both he and his wife are communicants of 
the Roman Catholic church. 

John Clifford is in every way a true son of Dodge county, having passed his 
entire life here. He began his education in the district schools of his town and 
completed it in the Juneau high school, from which he was graduated with the 
class of 1890. At the age of sixteen years, he became deputy clerk of courts 
and served five years, resigning to devote his entire time to newspaper work. 
Together with his brother, M. W., he engaged in the newspaper business in 1893, 
founding The Independent of Juneau. From the beginning they advocated 
bimetallism and the principles of democracy as enunciated by Jefferson and 
JSryan. Mr. Clifford gave his entire attention to this journal until December, 



JOHN CLIFFORD. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



455 



1906. He has always been a democrat in politics and was elected on that ticket 
to his present office in November of that year and about a month before assum- 
ing the duties of his office sold his interests to his brothers. He has not entirely 
severed his connection with local business interests, however, as he is presi- 
dent of The Home Investment Company. This is one of the largest real-estate 
concerns in the county and represents among its officials some of the leading 
business men. E. A. Clifford, a brother of the subject, is vice president; Paul 
A. Hemmy, whose biography appears elsewhere in this work, is secretary; A. A. 
Nowak is treasurer; and Arthur R. Hemmy, auditor. They deal exclusively in 
local properties, and as they are all known to be men of high business principles, 
have negotiated some of the leading real-estate transfers made during the period 
of their organization. 

On the 8th of October, 1908, Mr. Clifford was united in marriage to Miss 
Emma M. Bohnert, who was born in Hustisford township and is a daughter of 
August and Henrietta (Bellack) Bohnert. The father was' for many years 
engaged in farming here but is now living retired in Lowell. Of this marriage 
there have been born two sons: John Dominic, on September 30, 1909; and Wil- 
liam Bryan, born November 2, 1912. Mr. Clifford is a member of the Roman 
Catholic church, and Mrs. Clifford of the Lutheran church. 

He belongs to a number of fraternal and benevolent societies, and is venerable 
consul of Camp 1816 of M. W. A. of Juneau. Mr. Clifford has held numerous 
positions of honor and trust as follows: city clerk, Juneau, 1897-8; justice, 1899- 
1906; commissioner on public works, 1904-1910, and secretary thereof the first 
two years; secretary, democratic county committee, 1 902-1906; democratic can- 
didate for chief clerk of Wisconsin assembly, 1905 ; elected clerk of courts, fourth 
term, 1912. Mr. Clifford has proven to be a very capable official, fulfilling his 
duties with a rare sense of conscientious obligation, thus sustaining the confidence 
of his constituency and proving the wisdom of their choice. 



CLINTON E. SMITH. 

In 1909 Clinton E. Smith moved into the village of Randolph after many 
years' close identification with business and agricultural interests of Randolph 
township. Here he has become well known and popular in the public life of the 
district and has evidenced in his discharge of the important affairs under his 
direction the ability which makes his public spirit effective. He was born 
September 26, 1850, in Clinton, Massachusetts, a son of Alonzo E. and Sarah 
(Warner) Smith. His father was for many years prominent in the hotel and 
restaurant business in various parts of Wisconsin. He was born September 25, 
1820, in Cabot, Vermont, and came to this state in 1855, settling in Waupaca, 
where he conducted a hotel for a number of years. In 1866 he moved to Beaver 
Dam and there bought the Clark House from Mrs. Haight, who was then its 
owner, and this enterprise he conducted until about 1871, when he turned over 
the management to his son, Clinton, and moved to Minnesota Junction and pur- 
chased the Minnesota Junction Eating House. He retained his identification 
with this concern for two or three years and then became connected with a 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



similar enterprise in Elroy, Wisconsin. In the meantime, in 1874, he traded the 
Clark House to Mr. Dunham, receiving in exchange a farm near Randolph in 
Columbia county. Having about this time become proprietor of the Stevens 
House in Beaver Dam, he also exchanged this with Mr. Dunham for an addi- 
tional forty acres of land near Randolph. Upon these tracts he made all the 
improvements, erecting substantial buildings and installing labor-saving ma- 
chinery. In Elroy, Alonzo E. Smith remained about five years and from there 
removed to the village of Randolph, where he remained for one year, and then 
again became connected with hotel keeping, buying the Corning House in 
Portage. After two years' successful conduct of this enterprise he sold the hotel 
to Mr. Fosgate and came to his farm near Randolph, upon which he remained 
for one year. • At the end of that time he moved to Markesan and engaged in the 
general merchandise business for three, or four years. Selling out this enterprise 
eventually, he retired from active life and moved to Randolph, where he resided 
until his death in 1900. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Sarah Warner 
and she also was a native of Cabot, Vermont. Six children were born to their 
union, of whom two died in infancy and are buried in Vermont. Edna, whose 
birth occurred August 12, 1853, married in 1881 Dwight Illsley. She died in 
June, 1888, and is buried in Randolph, where she had lived since her marriage. 
Edwin W. was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin, in 1863. He lived in Randolph 
township until his death in May, 1912, and is buried in Randolph. Fred, twin to 
Edwin, died at the age of one year and is buried in Waupaca. Clinton E., our 
subject, completes the family. The mother of our subject died in 1895 and is 
buried beside her husband. 

Clinton E. Smith was only five years of age when his parents came to 
Wisconsin. He began his education in the public schools of Waupaca and also 
attended school in the various other parts of the state in which his father located. 
In 1 87 1 he assumed management of the Clark House in the interest of his father 
and conducted this enterprise until 1873, when he was elected city treasurer of 
Beaver Dam. In this office he discharged his duties ably and conscientiously 
and won widespread approval. From Beaver Dam he went to Elroy, Wisconsin, 
and entered the Railroad Eating House, with his father. Finally, however, he 
moved to his father's farm near Randolph and became connected with the 
agricultural life of the section, giving his entire attention to the improvement 
and development of the land. Upon this property he lived until 1909 and then 
moved into the village of Randolph, where he, has since resided. He has become 
interested and prominent in industrial circles in connection with the canning 
business, being president of the Randolph and Bonnie Mead canning factories. 

Mr. Smith married, on November 2, 1871, Miss Laura Armstrong, a daughter 
of A. H. Armstrong, of Trenton township, who was for some time widely known 
in that section, but who later moved to Randolph and made his home with his 
daughter until his death in 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children : Edna, 
who was born in Trenton township, July 18, 1873, and who married Fred Martin, 
of Hartford; and Jessie, who was born in October, 1875, in Elroy and who 
married L. W. Blatchley, with whom she resides on her father's farm. 

Mr. Smith is well known in the Masonic order, being a Royal Arch Mason 
and a Knight Templar since 1871. In his political views he is a democrat. In 
1890 he was elected to the legislature and did much constructive work while in 



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office, standing steadily for right and progress and supporting only those move- 
ments which had for their object the general growth and advancement. Since 
coming to Randolph he has had the leisure to devote himself more steadily to 
local public affairs and he has served his fellow citizens ably in many capacities. 
He is president of the Dodge County Fair Association, and was a member of the 
county board of Columbia county. He has been chairman of the town of 
Randolph several times, his conscientious administration winning him several 
reelections. As a public official no breath of suspicion has ever been connected 
with his name and no trust reposed in him has he ever neglected or betrayed. 



JOHN MOLTHEN. 

John Molthen, who was born June 26, 1870, in Houghton county, Michigan, 
makes his home on two hundred and eighty acres on section 14, Trenton town- 
ship, which he rents. His industry and energy have found substantial reward in 
a most gratifying degree of prosperity. He has now followed agricultural 
pursuits along progressive and modern lines for a number of years in this 
township and notable success has attended his efforts. His parents, Frederick 
and Madaline (Enderlie) Molthen, were natives of Germany and Switzerland, 
respectively, whence they emigrated to the United States, locating in Michigan, 
where they were married. There the father was engaged in mining until 1876, 
when he came to Wisconsin and bought a farm in TrentOn township, this county, 
on which he made his home until 1904- He had been successful in his under- 
takings and had accumulated a competence which permitted him to retire, and 
in that year he removed to Beaver Dam, where he passed away on May 21, 1907. 
The mother survived only a few years, dying June 23, 1910. The father was 
eighty-two years of age and the mother seventy-three at the time of their deaths, 
and both are buried in Oakwood cemetery at Beaver Dam. 

John Molthen was the seventh of eight children. He was reared at home 
and received his early education in the district schools near his father's farm 
and subsequently assisted his father in the work on the home place, gaining 
valuable knowledge of the details of agriculture. He remained under the parental 
roof until he was married in 1891. Mr. Molthen engages in general farming 
and pays special attention to stock-raising. He has a herd of thirty-one cows and 
sells his milk to the cheese factories. He specializes in high-grade Holstein and 
Durham cattle. He also raises pure-bred Poland China hogs and markets annually 
about fifty to seventy-five. All the hay and grain of his farm is used for stock 
feeding, but the barley which he raises he sells in the market. 

Mr. Molthen was united in marriage, on January 11, 1891, to Miss Mamie 
Venie, a daughter of Julius and Eugenia (Heppe) Venie, natives of Switzerland 
and New York state respectively. The parents were married in Wisconsin and 
afterward removed to Missouri, where they resided for one year, when they 
returned to Wisconsin and lived on the homestead which the father acquired in 
Calamus township until 1898. In that year they removed to Reesevillc, Wis- 
consin, where they made their home until 1906, when they went to Minneapolis, 
Minnesota, where they now make their home. The father has reached the age 



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of sixty-eight and the niother is in her sixtieth year. Mrs. Molthen was the 
third of five children^ born February 16, 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. Molthen have 
been born three children: Erwin G.; born June 12, 1893; Lester J., born March 
2 4 1895; dnd Ethel M., born October 6, 1901. All of the children are yet under 
the parental roof. 

Mr. Molthen takes a laudable interest in the public life of trie community in 
which he lives but he has never aspired to public office His affiliations are with 
the republican party but in local issues he votes irrespective of party lines, 
following his own judgment as to whom to support for office. Mr. and Mrs. 
Molthen are well and favorably known in the community in tvhich they have 
made their home for many years and they are accorded the esteem of a large 
circle of friends. The success he has attained along agricultural lines thus far 
is but a promise of what the future holds in store for him. 



FRED T. BUTTERBRODT 

Fred T. Butterbrodt is a native of the fatherland and a than who brings 
German industry and thrift to his labors as an agriculturist, rte is residing on 
section 19, Burnett township, where he is active in the operation of one hundred 
and seventy-riine acres of excellent land. He was born on July 23, 1862, and 
is a son Of August and Minnie (Kuehn) Butterbrodt, who came from Germany 
to America in 1864 and settled in Dodge courtty in Beaver Darii. 

Mr. Butterbrodt is third in a family of ten children. He was educated in the 
public schools of Dodge county and remained at home until he was twenty-five 
years of age. At that time he purchased land in Oak Grove township, buying at 
that time eighty-five acres which he cultivated, developed and improved for over 
twenty years. During the time he made his farm one of the most productive 
in the district and developed his holdings along systematic lines. In 1908 he 
invested in one hundred and seventy-nine acres in BUrrtett and Trenton town- 
ships and upon this land he is living at the present time. His farm is a model 
for other agricultural properties in the section. His entire holdings are fenced 
with barb and woven Wire and two acres are fenced hog-tight. There was a barn, 
thirty- four feet by one hundred and twenty- four, upor 1 the land when he pur- 
chased it, and this he is now using: He has built a l>eautiful ten-room home 
equipped with all modern conveniences, which he occupied in the fill of 191 r. 
A drilled well gives him an adequate water supply for all purposes. He plants 
his fields in barley and other grains and raises a large quantity of corn for 
feeding his full-blooded Berkshire hogs. He is also interested in the breeding 
and raising of Percheron horses and graded Holstein cattle, lie is one of the 
expert stock-raisers in the section in which he reside? and he keeps his cows 
mostly for dairy purposes, but also sells in the Wisconsin markets and has added 
materially to his income in this way. He is a stockholder in the Champion Dairy 
Cheese factory of Burnett and is an active fdctor in the development of Dodge 
county. 

Mr. Butterbrodt was married in Beaver Dam. March 14, 188^, to Miss Cora 
Zepp, a daughter of Jacob and Maggie (Frey) Zepp. residents of Lowell, Wis- 



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consin. Mrs. Butterbrodt was fourth in a family of nine children and her birth 
occurred in Lowell, April 9, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Butterbrodt are the parents of 
four children. Alma, Elizabeth, Irvin and Ada, all of whom are at home. The 
family arc regular attendants at the German Lutheran church of Beaver Dam. 

Mr. Butterbrodt votes the democratic ticket, being a firm believer in the 
principles and policies which that party advocates but he is not otherwise active 
in political affairs and never seeks public office. His labors have been productive 
of results because his methods are consistently up-to-date, and practical and he 
has helped to develop farming along scientifically progressive lines. 



GEORGE W. SMITH. 

One of the most attractive and best improved properties of Burnett township 
is Pleasant View Stock Farm, which comprises two hundred and ninety-three 
acres of sections 8 and 9 and is the property of George W. Smith, one of the 
substantial citizens and capable business men of that community. He is one 
of Dodge county's excellent native sons, his birth having occurred in this 
township on the 22d of February, 1859. The parents, Eldredge and Susan 
(Lukens) Smith, were natives respectively of the states of New York and 
Pennsylvania, and of Irish and German extraction. The grandfather's name 
was Trumbull Smith and he was one of triplets. George Washington hap- 
pened to pass through the locality where the family home was located and espe- 
cially rode over to see the boys. He asked permission to christen them and gave 
them the names of George — after himself — and Trumbull and Green. The father, 
Eldredge Smith, came to Wisconsin in 1842 with his wife, whose maiden name was 
Lavina Cooper. They came directly to Dodge county, first settling in the vicinity 
of Beaver Dam, and here his wife passed away. From there he later removed 
to Rolling Prairie, this township, and purchased two hundred and twenty acres 
of raw land. Having resolved to make it his home, he set about developing his 
farm with a diligence which enabled him to transform it into one of the 
attractive and valuable properties of the community. Mr. Smith had in the 
meantime married the mother of our subject and here both parents passed the 
remainder of their lives, the father's death occurring in 1904, at the venerable 
age of eighty-seven years, while the mother, who died in the spring of 1894, 
was sixty-five at the time of her demise. They were laid to rest in Oakwood 
cemetery at Beaver Dam. To them were born three children, our subject being 
the second in order of birth, and to Mr. Smith and his first wife were horn 
three sons. 

The first twenty-one years in the life of George W. Smith were passed on the 
parental homestead, in very much the same manner as that of other farmer 
lads. He was educated in the district schools, and while engaged in the mastery 
of the common branches was qualifying himself for the career of an agriculturist 
by assisting his father with the" tilling of the fields and caring of the crops. 
Soon after attaining his majority he left home and began farming for himself 
•as a renter. Two years later he removed to his present place of residence, which 
he leased for four years and then purchased it. His entire tract is fenced with 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



barbed wire, fifteen acres of it hog tight. He is practical and progressive in his 
methods, as is readily evidenced by the general appearance and condition of his 
place. A hundred and eighty acres of the two hundred and fifty he has under 
cultivation have been tiled, twelve carloads of tiling having been required for the 
purpose, and where necessary the remainder is ditched. His land is largely 
planted to such cereals as can be used in the feeding of stock, as in connection 
with diversified farming he engages in dairying and stock-raising. He now has 
sixty head of cattle, all pure-bred Shorthorns, and he is also breeding Poland 
China hogs and Perch eron horses. Mr. Smith takes great pride in his farm and 
each year marks a noticeable improvement in the place. In 1904, he built a 
substantial ten-room house, equipped with a hot air heating plant and a water 
system with tank pressure. The barn, which is forty-five by seventy-six feet, 
was on the place when he came, but it has since been provided with a cement 
floor and patent stanchions. There are ample sheds and outbuildings about the 
premises for the shelter of the stock and grain and his equipment comprises 
everything essential to his business. 

In 1879, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Addie Hyland, a daughter of George 
and Margaret (Sanborn) Hyland, the father a native of Vermont and the 
mother of New Hampshire. The mother had been previously married and was 
the widow of Amasa Hyland, who founded Hyland Prairie, where he owned 
four hundred and forty acres of land. Mrs. Hyland, who passed away in 1862, 
at the age of thirty-seven years, was the mother of five children, one of whom 
was born of her first marriage. Mrs. Smith, who is the youngest of the family, 
was born on April 10, i860. The father long survived the mother, his death 
occurring in 1902, at the age of seventy-six. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been 
born four children: Roy'L., a resident of Beaver Dam, who is married and has 
four children; Ray St. Elmo, who is residing at home; Leo G., born March 30, 
1898; and George W. Jr., who was born February 22, 1900. 

The parents are active workers in the Free Baptist church of Burnett, of 
which Mr. Smith is one of the deacons. Fraternally he is affiliated with the 
Masonic order. His political support he accords to such men and measures as 
he deems best adapted to subserve the interest of the people, irrespective of party. 
He is public-spirited in matters of citizenship and is interested in all local affairs, 
particularly those pertaining to education, having been clerk of the school board 
for twenty-seven years, while for two he was chairman of the township. 
Diligent and enterprising, Mr. Smith stands for progress in his community, where 
he is held in high respect by reason of his excellent personal qualities and his 
honorable methods of conducting his business transactions. 



Rev. Henry A. Velte, pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church at Huber- 
ville, is a fine example of an earnest and sincere clergyman. Since his ordina- 
tion to the priesthood in 1906 he has been a factor in the spreading of Catholic 
doctrines in Wisconsin, achieving his success by useful, valuable and practical* 
work. He was born in Milwaukee, July 18, 1881, a son of John and Regina 



REV. HENRY A. VELTE. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



4«1 



(Multhauf ) Velte. The father was born in Germany in 1845 an d came to America 
when he was eighteen years of age, settling in Milwaukee, where he was in the 
employ of the Falk Company. He died in 1889. His wife was a native of Oak 
Creek, bom in 1851. She married the father of our subject in 1871, and passed 
away in Milwaukee in 1892. Both are buried in Calvary cemetery. They became 
the parents of three chidren : Edwin, who died in infancy and who is buried in 
New Coeln, Wisconsin, Johanna, whose birth occurred in Milwaukee, and who 
is acting as housekeeper for her brother; and Henry A., the subject of this sketch. 

Father Velte received his primary education in the parochial schools of 
Milwaukee and pursued his philosophical studies at St. Johns University, Col- 
legeville, Minnesota. He was prepared for the priesthood in St. Francis' Semi- 
nary near Milwaukee. His ordination occurred when he was twenty-five years 
of age and he came immediately to Beavor Dam, where he was assistant to Father 
Zimmer. He afterward served under Father Muenzer, coming to Huberville on 
the 16th of February, 191 1. Here he took charge of St. Mary's church and has 
since been active in its management. He is a member of the Knights of Colum- 
bus and well known in the affairs of that organization. For six years he has 
labored steadily for the advancement of religion and for its implanting in the 
hearts of his people, combining a firm faith and upright principles with the 
administrative ability to make his beliefs effective, and has made his work con- 
vincing by personally adhering to the principles which he professes. 



JULIUS VOIGT. 

Julius Voigt resides upon twenty-five acres of land on section 29, Lebanon 
township, and gives his attention to general fanning and to working at the 
mason's trade. He was born in Germany, April 29, 1863, a son of August and 
Minnie (Bliese) Voigt, who came to America in June, 1869, an ^ settled in 
Emmet township upon a farm. Some years later they moved to Lebanon town- 
ship, where the father purchased sixteen acres of land which he improved and 
upon which he resided for twenty years. At the end of* that time he dis- 
posed of the property and bought ninety acres on section 19, upon which he 
lived until his death, which occurred in 1902, when he was sixty-nine years of 
age. His wife died in the spring of 1909, when she was seventy-four years old. 
Both are buried in Lebanon cemetery. 

Julius Voigt is the eldest in a family of three children. His brother, John, and 
his sister, Martha, make their home with him upon his farm in Lebanon town- 
ship. He was educated in the district schools and remained at home until after 
his mother's death. In the spring of 1909 he and his family together with his 
brother and sister moved upon the property upon which they now reside, renting 
out the homestead. Mr. Voigt is a mason by trade and works occasionally at 
this occupation, gaining success in both lines by reason of his industry and well 
directed energy. 

In 1000 Mr. Voigt was united in marriage to Miss Eva Pankow, a daughter 
of Rev. Erdman Pankow, who was for many years pastor of the Lutheran church 



462 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



in Lebanon township. He died in 1907, when he was eighty-eight years of 
age. His wife makes her home with her daughter in Marshfield. Mrs. Voigt 
is the fifth in a family of eight children and was born March 26, 1870. She 
and her husband have four daughters, Agnes, Dorothy, Juliana and Emma. 
The family are members of the Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran church. 

Mr. Voigt is a democrat and active in political affairs, serving at the present 
time as clerk of the township. He acted for one year as township assessor and 
is now clerk of the school board, bringing to the more public aspects of his life 
the same energy and conscientiousness which have made his business career 
successful. 



CHARLES F. GREBEL. 

One of the most active, successful and progressive farmers of Westford 
township is Charles F. Grebel, who owns two hundred and ten acres of fine land 
on section 6, highly improved and developed along systematic and practical 
lines. He was born in Chester, Wisconsin, November 10, 1866, and is a son 
of Herman and Dorothy (Hanf) Grebel, natives of Germany. His father came 
to America at the age of fourteen and settled with his parents on a farm near 
Milwaukee. They moved from this property to one in Chester township and 
there the father of our subject resided until his death in 1893. He is buried 
in Oakwood cemetery in Beaver Dam. The mother of our subject also came 
to America when she was a child. At the age of eight she settled in Milwau- 
kee, where her father conducted a profitable blacksmith shop for a number of 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Grebel had ten children. August married Fran- 
ces Young, who died in 1892 and is buried in Oakwood cemetery at Beaver Dam. 
Of this union were born five children. He later wedded Miss Ida Zimmermdnn, a 
daughter of F. F. Zimmermann, of Waupun. Hannah passed away at the age 
of four and is buried in Beaver Dam. Lena married Jacob Martin, of Beaver 
Dam, who died in 191 1 and is buried in Oakwood cemetery. Mrs. Martin 
makes her home in Beaver Dam with her six children. Martha wedded Jacob 
Boose and lived in Waupun until her death, January 1, 1905. She and her 
husband had two sons and two daughters. Edward married Mary Davidson, 
of Waupun, and now makes his home in Green Bay. He has three children. 
Annie married Daniel Boose, who died in De Smet, South Dakota. She resides 
in Beaver Dam with her two children. John was born in 1864. He married 
Anna Rauber and they reside in Waupun with their two daughters. Hannah 
was born in 1868 and resides in Beaver Dam. Grace was born in 1871. She 
married Charles Anspach, of Randolph. The youngest son born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Herman Grebel is Charles, of this review. 

The last named has always been connected with agricultural interests in 
Wisconsin. As a boy he worked upon his father's farm near Atwater and 
finally secured possession of it by purchase. He operated and managed it until 
1901, when he disposed of his holdings in that section and bought two hundred 
and ten acres of land on section 6, Westford township, which he has cultivated 
since that time. By steadily adhering to progressive methods he had gained a 



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success in eleven years which places him among the representative and substan- 
tial fanners of this district. 

Mr. Grebel married, on February 22, 1898, Miss Mattie D. Madigan, a 
daughter of John and Helen Madigan, of Trenton, Wisconsin. They became 
the parents of five children. Mary Florence was born June 19, 1900, and died 
on the 8th of March, 1907. She is buried in Trenton cemetery. Charles Arthur 
was born February 10, 1903. He died on the 28th of March, 1906, and is also 
buried in Trenton cemetery. Helen Angela was born October 28, 1905, and 
lives at home. John David was born June 23, 1907, and is also with his par- 
ents. The youngest child born to Mr. and Mrs. Grebel is Paul Grant, whose 
birth occurred October 21, 191 1. 

Mr. Grebel and his wife are members of the Equitable Fraternal Union. 
Politically he gives his allegiance to the democratic party but has never desired 
office, preferring to do service to the public by leading a worthy life. He is 
interested in the welfare of his section and during the years of his residence has 
won for himself a creditable position as a valued citizen and a progressive 
farmer. 



JOHN B. BECKER. 

Political and business circles of Juneau have profited by the activities of 
John B. Becker, who has given his attention for the past twenty-four years to 
the promotion of various important local enterprises and has also become a 
prominent figure in public affairs. He was born in Herman township, Sep- 
tember 2, 1864, a son of John Becker, a native of Germany. His father came 
to Wisconsin when this state was still a territory and located in what is now 
Rubicon township. Here he followed the blacksmith's trade which he had 
learned in his youth and was also identified with the grain business. For some 
time he conducted a saloon and eventually took up farming, dying upon his 
property in Rubicon township, April 14, 1898. His wife passed away four 
years later. 

John B. Becker attended the district schools of Rubicon township and when 
he laid aside his books learned the blacksmith's trade. When he was twenty- 
four years of age he came to Juneau and conducted a blacksmith shop for one 
year, following which he was elected under-sheriff and then deputy-sheriff, 
serving in each capacity for two years. He is now the representative in Juneau 
for the Young Brewing Company of Milwaukee and also furnishes the ice 
used in the village. He is a stockholder in the Standard Cigar Company and a 
director in the Hartford Exchange Bank. He is interested in important busi- 
ness enterprises and has gained a position of prominence and importance in 
Juneau. 

On November 22, 1888, Mr. Becker was united in marriage to Miss Kath- 
lena Hauser, who died July 29, 1904. On October 26, of the following year, 
he wedded Miss Matilda Nies, of Milwaukee. He has three children: Eugene, 
who is associated with his father in the conduct of his business; Mary, who 
resides at home; and Alphonso, a student in St. Mary's Academy. 



464 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Mr. Becker gives his allegiance to the democratic party and for many 
years has been prominent in local affairs. For six years he has been justice 
of the peace, and is now serving in that capacity. In 1893 he served as sergeant- 
at-arms for the Wisconsin state democratic convention and was for two years 
under-sheriff of Dodge county and for a similar period of time deputy-sher- 
iff. For twelve years he was a member of the city council and was in all the 
aspects of his public life faithful to the trust reposed in him, progressive in 
the standards which he advocated, and actuated in all the details of his public 
service by the same conscientiousness and sense of responsibility which have 
made him prosperous and successful in his business life. 



JOHN FROEMMING. 

John Froemming is living retired at No. 238 North avenue, Watertown, 
having spent all his active life in America in general farming, until his retire- 
ment in 1891. He was born in Germany, May 29, 1841, a son of David and 
Mena (Pagel) Froemming, natives of the fatherland, who came to America in 
1843. Landing in New York, they pushed westward to Milwaukee by rail and 
then traveled with ox teams to Lebanon, where they spent the remainder of 
their lives. Both are buried in the Lebanon cemetery. 

John Froemming is the youngest in a family of eight children. He received 
his education in the public schools of Lebanon and remained at home until he 
was thirty years of age. At that time his father gave him one hundred and 
sixty acres, to which he later added eighty acres, and this property he devel- 
oped and improved for twelve years. Eventually, however, he sold the portion 
which he had purchased and lived upon the original tract, which is located on 
section 32, Lebanon township. Upon this he carried on general farming and 
by following the most progressive and modern methods made his enterprise 
one of the model farms of this section of the state. In 1891, however, he 
retired from active life and moved to Watertown, where he bought a home 
in the midst of three acres of land and here he has since resided. 

On February 15, 1871, Mr. Froemming was united in marriage to Miss 
Johanna Macheel, a daughter of John D. and Johanna (Radolp) Macheel, 
natives of Germany, who came to America in early life and settled at May- 
ville, where both passed away. Mrs. Froemming is the fourth in a family 
of seven children and was born on her father's farm near Mayville, November 
5, 1857. She and her husband are the parents of ten children: George, who is 
a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and who married Miss Julia Ohlson, 
by whom he has one child; Emma, who is the wife of Edward Schoen, of Fort 
Atkinson, by whom she has five children; Hulda, who married William Schil- 
ling, of Denver, Colorado, by whom she has three children ; Lena, who is the 
wife of William Marquart, of Watertown, Wisconsin, by whom she has one 
child; Otto, who resides in Watertown; Edward, who resides in Lebanon and 
who married SophialjCietz, by whom he has one child; Theodore, who makes 
his home in Lebanon; Alma, who is the wife of Leonard Oestreich, of Water- 



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465 



town; Francis and feert, both of whom reside at home. The family belong 
to the German Lutheran church. 

Mr. Froeihming always votes the democratic ticket but has never sought 
public office. He has invested the comfortable fortune which he has acquired 
in city property in Watertown dnd also owns his fine one hundred and sixty 
acre farm. He is one of the well known and highly respected citizens of this 
district and takes an intelligent interest in local affairs. His active career was 
Useful and honorable 1 and his retirement lias been earned by industry and dili- 
gence in the past. 



FREDERICK A. KIENOW. 

The energies of Frederick A. Kicnow have always been devoted to agricul- 
tural pursuits in which he has met with a goodly measure of success, being 
dwner of a valuable farm of a hundred and ninety-seven acres located on 
section 8, Burnett tbwnship.' His entire life has been passed in the vicinity 
where he now resides, his birth having occurred in this township on the ioth 
of August, 1073. He is the eldest of the five children born of the marriage of 
Carl and Augusta Kienow, who were born and reared in Germany. In early 
life both came to America, their destination being Rolling Prairie, where they 
located in 1871, and were married. There the father established a home and 
engaged in farming until his death, which occurred on April 6, 1904. The 
mother is stili living at the age of sixty-two years. 

The youth- of Frederick A. Kienow was very similar to that of the average 
lad who is bortl and reared iri a pioneer community. He was early made to 
feel the duties and responsibilities of life by being assigned regular tasks about 
the home place, having begun to assist his father about the work of the fields 
and care of the stock while still in his boyhood. He always remained with 
his parents, and after his marriage he and his father leased a place in Chester, 
which they operated on a cooperative plan for six years. At the expiration of 
that time, Mr. Kienow purchased his present property, and has ever since been 
devoting himself to its further improvement with good results. A hundred 
acres of his holding is under the plow, a large portion of it being planted to 
barley. The latter he sells and he also markets large quantities of sugar beets 
and potatoes, but such other cereals as he raises and his hay he uses in feeding. 
He also engages in dairying and stock-raising, making a specialty of Percheron 
horses and Chester Whites hogs, while his cattle, which are of a mixed breed 
are now being bred to Holsteins. Mr. Kienow's pldce is well improved and kept 
Up. Hfe has two barns, one, forty by sixty-five feet and the other thirty by 
forty, which were bh the place when he bought it. The residence, however, he 
remodeled in 1906 and during the period of his ownership he has made various 
other changes, all of which have added to the general appearance and value of 
the property. Eighty acres of his tract is detached and this he has fenced with 
barbed wire, two acres of it being hog tight. His firm is provided with excellent 
water, which is supplied from drilled wells. 

Mr. Kienow was married in the fall of 1896 to Miss Eda Pegelow, a daugh- 



466 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



tcr of William Pegelow of this county, and to them have been born the follow- 
ing children: Carl, who died in infancy; and Reuben, Frederick, Flora and 
Hattie. 

The family attend the First Lutheran church of Beaver Dam, in which the 
parents hold membership. Mr. Kienow takes an active interest in local politics, 
giving his support to the democratic party. He has served with efficiency in 
various township offices, having been assessor for three years, pathmaster for 
four, and clerk of the school board for two. In the discharge of his official 
duties he manifests the sound judgment/ prompt action and decisive, capable 
methods, which characterize him in the development of his private interests. 



HUGH T. ROBERTS. 

Hugh T. Roberts has for more than thirty-five years been identified with 
the agricultural interests of Calamus township, where he owns two hundred 
acres of land, located on section 30. His birth occurred in Wales, in 1839. 
His parents, Thomas and Katherine (Jones) Roberts, passed their entire lives 
in the north of Wales, where they reared their family. In order of birth those 
beside our subject are as follows: Sattrick, who was born, reared and married 
in Wales, where he passed away in 1910; William, who died in the old country 
in 1907 ; Robert, who is married and resides in Wales ; Owen, who has been 
twice married, his first union being with a Miss Williams, while for his second 
wife he chose Miss Ellen Jones, from the north of Wales, where they now 
reside; Edward, who married Ann Roberts and is residing near Randolph, Wis- 
consin; Thomas, who married Ellen Thomas and resides in Wales; Margaret, 
who became the wife of Henry Williams, and passed away in Wales ; Catherine, 
the wife of John Roberts, of Liverpool, England; Elizabeth, the wife of John 
Jones, of Wales; and two who died in infancy. Edward and Hugh T. Roberts 
are the only members of their family who have come to America, with the 
exception of their brother Owen, who made them a visit in the summer of 1912. 

The first twenty-six years in the life of Hugh T. Roberts were passed in 
the land of his nativity. Being irresistibly drawn to America by the wonderful 
tales he had heard regarding the opportunities here afforded enterprising young 
men, in 1865 he took passage for the United States, with Wisconsin as his 
destination. He first located at Columbus, this state, where he worked for 
John Thomas for a time, but later entered the employ of Dr. Hughes. He sub- 
sequently began farming for himself on a place formerly owned by R. D. Jones. 
Thrifty habits and careful expenditures enabled him to acquire enough money 
to become a property owner and he invested in some land in Calamus township. 
He located on this place in 1875, but later removed to the place now owned by 
his son. He has extensively improved both properties during the period of his 
ownership, having in 1901 erected all of the buildings on the place where he 
now lives. His fields have been brought into a high state of productivity, and 
in connection with their cultivation he engages in raising graded cattle. He has 
also dealt rather extensively in horses, raising the Norman, Clyde and Pcrchcron 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



467 



breeds. His land has always been largely planted to grain, but of recent years 
he has raised large quantities of peas for the canning factory. 

Mr. Roberts was married in 1869 to Miss Margaret Jones, a resident of 
Calamus township, and a daughter of Hugh Jones, of Wales. She came to 
this country at the age of nineteen years with a brother, who located in Columbus, 
Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have been born fourteen children, in 
the following order: Katherine, who was born in 1870, is the wife of R. H. 
Williams, of Fox Lake, Wisconsin. Margaret Ellen, who was born in 1872, 
became the wife of William Davis, and passed away in Randolph, this state, in 
1900. Mary, who was born in 1874, is the widow of D. W. Richards, who died 
in January, 1912, at Calamus, Wisconsin, and was buried in Bethel cemetery, at 
Elba, this state. Thomas, of Calamus, was born in 1875, a "d married Anna 
Hughes of Oshkosh. Lizzie, who was born in 1877, died in 1893 and is buried 
in Bethel cemetery. Hugh Elias, a resident of Calamus, was born in 1878 and 
married Margaret Jane Evans. Edward, a resident of Whittier, California, was 
born in 1880, and married Catherine Williams. Ann Jane, who was born in 
1882, is the wife of Spencer Griffiths of Emporia, Kansas. William C, of 
Columbus, Wisconsin, was born in 1884 and married Margaret A. Jones. Hannah, 
who was born in 1886; John J., whose birth occurred in 1889; Henry, whose 
natal year was 1893; and Elizabeth, who was born in 1896, are all living at 
home. Richard, the youngest of the family, was born in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. 
Roberts are also rearing their grandson, Hugh W. Davis, the son of their second 
daughter, Margaret Ellen. He was born in 1900 and has made his home with 
his grandparents ever since the death of his mother. 

In matters of religious faith the family are Methodists and belong to the 
Calvanistic church of that denomination. For many years Mr. Roberts applied 
himself with unremitting energy to the development of his farm, but owing to 
his advanced age he has largely withdrawn from active work but still directs 
the operation of his homestead. He is one of the estimable citizens of Calamus 
township where both he and his family are held in high regard. 



WILLIAM PRITCHARD. 

While formerly identified with mercantile interests in Randolph, William 
Pritchard is now engaged in the real-estate business and is thoroughly informed 
concerning property values' and the opportunity for judicious and profitable 
investment. He was born in the town of Manchester, Green Lake county, 
Wisconsin, on the 14th of January, 1871. His father, Henry Pritchard, a native 
of Wales, was brought to America by his parents when eight years of age. 
The family home was established in the town of Manchester, Green Lake 
county, upon a farm and there Henry Pritchard was reared. Having arrived 
at mature years he married Sarah Roberts, a native of Washington county. 
They began their domestic life in the town of Manchester but afterward 
removed to a farm in Columbia county, Wisconsin, where Mr. Pritchard car- 
ried on general agricultural pursuits until his life's labors were ended in death 
in April, 1892. His remains were brought back to Manchester for interment. 



468 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



His widow now lives in Randolph. They were the parents of two children, 
the daughter being Mary Ann, who was born October i, 1869, and is the wift 
of the Rev. J. R. Johns, now of Columbus, Ohio, who for fourteen years was 
pastor of the Welsh church in Randolph. 

No event of especial importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life 
for William Pritchard in his boyhood and youth. He worked in the fields 
through the summer months and when school was in session attended the dis- 
trict school of the neighborhood. Moving to Randolph in October, 1892, he 
engaged in the hardware business. 

On the 15th of July, 1899, he wedded Ellen Owen, a daughter of VV. E. 
and Ann Jane Owen, of Randolph, Wisconsin, where Mrs. Pritchard was born 
in June, 1881. Her father is a prominent builder and contractor and has been 
chorister of the choir of the Welsh church at Randolph for over thirty-five 
years. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard took up their abode in Ran- 
dolph, where he continued in the hardware business until 1901, when he dis- 
posed of his interests in that line of trade and opened a real-estate office. This 
he has since conducted and has handled many property transfers. He is thor- 
oughly conversant with the real estate upon the market and its valuation and 
is thus competent to aid a prospective seller or purchaser. He belongs to the 
Welsh Calvinistic Methodist church and to the Masonic fraternity — associa- 
tions which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the high principles 
which govern his conduct. 



Van Wyck Anthony, whose home in Hustisford, known as Willow Batik, 
is one of the most picturesque in the county, if not in the state, is now spend- 
ing the evening of life in honorable retirement and in the enjoyment of the 
fruits of his former toil. His birth occurred at Fishkill, New York, on the 24th 
of April, 1839, his parents being Nicholas and Maria (Knapp) Anthony. The 
father was born at Fishkill in 1794, while the mother's birth occurred at Phillips- 
town in the year 1800. Nicholas Anthony followed farming throughout his 
entire business career and always remained in the east. He did valiant service as 
a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in December, 1863, having for but one 
month survived his wife, who passed away in November of that year. Unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Anthony were born seven children, as follows: John, 
whose demise occurred in 1868; David, who passed away at the age of twenty- 
one years; Elizabeth, who is the widow of Henry H. Hustis, an attorney of 
Fishkill on the Hudson, New York, where she still makes her home; William, 
an editor residing at Fishkill on the Hudson; Edward, who is deceased; Van 
Wyck, of this review; and Nicholas, who is a retired resident of Fishkill on the 
Hudson. 

Van Wyck Anthony obtained his early education in the schools of Fishkill, 
New York, and completed his studies by graduation at Claverack, that state. 
He remained under the parental roof until twenty-three years of age and then 



VAN WYCK ANTHONY 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



469 



embarked in the coal business at Fishkill, conducting an enterprise of that 
character for about five years. On the expiration of that period he returned 
to the homestead farm, remaining thereon until 1885, when he came to Wiscon- 
sin. After a short time spent in Milwaukee, he located in Hustisford and has 
here resided continuously since. He has retired from active business and is 
spending the evening of life in well earned ease. 

On the 21st of July, 1885, Mr. Anthony was united in marriage to Miss 
Florence L. Hustis, who was born in Milwaukee, on the 10th of May, 1846, her 
parents being John and Laura Ann (Ludington) Hustis. Mr. Anthony is a 
republican in politics but his aspirations have not been in the line of office hold- 
ing. During the period of the Civil war he joined the Union League. His 
residence stands on the point of land which was formerly known as Wausharika, 
or the City of the Foxes. He has lived in Dodge county for more than a quar- 
ter of a century and enjoys the friendship and regard of all who know him. 



HON. PAUL O. HUSTING. 

Hon Paul O. Husting, lawyer and law-maker, has twice represented his 
district in the state senate and in the work of the courts has been prominent 
since an early period in his professional career. While advancement at the 
bar is proverbially slow he rapidly worked his way upward, finding correct 
solution for the many intricate legal problems and presenting his causes in the 
courts with clearness and force. He was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 
April 25, 1866, and is a son of John P. Husting, who was a native of Luxem- 
burg, Germany, whence he came to the new world in 1856, making Fond du 
Lac his destination. He is a watchmaker and jeweler by trade and has followed 
that business in Fond du Lac from 1857 until 1876, when he came to Mayville, 
where he again engaged in the same business. He has since been numbered 
among the representative merchants of the town and is still active in commercial 
circles, although in the seventy- fourth year of his age. He wedded Mary Juneau, 
a daughter of Solomon Juneau, who was born near Montreal, Canada, and mar- 
ried Josette Viau. Solomon Juneau became one of the early residents of Dodge 
county and was the founder of Theresa, which was named after his oldest 
daughter, while Juneau, the county seat, was named in honor of Paul Juneau, 
an uncle of Mr. Husting. It was about 1852 or 1853 that Solomon Juneau 
took up his abode at Theresa. He was a trader and was connected with various 
business enterprises in Milwaukee. During the early period of his residence 
at Milwaukee he was agent for John Jacob Astor. In the family of John P. and 
Mary (Juneau) Husting there are eight children: Otto C, who is married and is 
engaged in the insurance business at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin ; Paul O. ; Max 
R., who is engaged in the newspaper business in Fargo, North Dakota, and is 
married and has one child; Isabella J., the wife of Judge C. W. Lamoreaux, 
county judge of Dodge county, by whom she has two children ; Leo F., agent 
for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad at Kaukama, Wisconsin, who is 
married and has Ave children; Bonduel A., district attorney at Fond du Lac, 
who is married and has two children ; Gustav B., who is an attorney of Mayville 
and is married and has two children; and Berthold J., of Fond du Lac, who 
is married and has two children. 

»°L H-2T 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Paul O. Husting was a pupil in the German and English Academy of Fond 
du Lac to his tenth year and of the public schools between the ages of ten 
and sixteen years and later resumed his studies as a student in the Wisconsin 
University. He started out in the business world as clerk in a general store 
in Mayville and was thus employed for five years. He was also at one time assist- 
ant postmaster of the town and later was connected with the railway mail service, 
running between Minneapolis and Chicago. In January, 1895, he took up the 
study of law and spent one year in law school at Madison. In December, 1895, ne 
passed the state bar examination and then returned to Mayville, where he entered 
into partnership with C. W. Lamoreaux, in 1897, with whom he remained until 
the latter was elected county judge in April, 191 1. The firm was then dissolved 
and Mr. Husting was joined by his brother under the firm style of Husting 
& Brother. He is an able and distinguished lawyer who has been a close 
student of his profession and has comprehensive knowledge of the principles 
of jurisprudence. He has ever prepared his cases with great thoroughness 
and care, and clearness and perspicuity mark their presentation. For two 
terms of two years each he has served as district attorney of Dodge county and 
in 1906 he was elected to the state senate where he made a record so credita- 
ble that he was reelected and is now serving his second term. He is a believer 
in democratic principles and as a member of that party was elected to the 
upper house of the general assembly. He keeps well informed upon those 
questions which are to the statesman and the man of affairs of greatest import 
and his indorsement of any vital measure is based upon no superficial under- 
standing of the question, but rests upon a deep investigation of all that it 
involves. The same analytical element is strongly manifest in his professional 
career and he is making continuous advancement in the calling where success 
depends entirely upon individual effort, merit and ability. 



JAMES EDWARD BARSTOW. 

James Edward Barstow is the owner of a valuable farm in Dodge county, 
comprising an excellent tract of cultivated land situated on section 18, West- 
ford township. He was born in Courtland, Columbia county, Wisconsin, Sep- 
tember 24, 1866. His father, George Barstow, is a native of Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, born in Bradford, February 6, 1828. He came to America in 1849, 
landing in Boston, Massachusetts, July 8 of that year, after a five weeks' 
ocean voyage. From Boston he went to Lowell where he earned his first dol- 
lar on the present site of the Hood's Sarsaparilla factory. Here he remained 
for one year until he had earned enough money to pay his expenses to New 
York, where he remained for several months, and then came to Wisconsin, 
settling in Westford. Afterward he purchased a farm in Courtland township, 
Columbia county, which he improved and operated for a number of years. 
On September 4, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, First Wisconsin Heavy 
Artillery, and served under General Thomas in the Army of the Cumberland. 
He was mustered out with honorable discharge June 16, 1865, at Knoxvillc, 
Tennessee, and was paid off at Louisville, Kentucky. He returned immcdi- 



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ately to his Wisconsin farm and operated it successfully until his retirement. 
After this for some time he lived in the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio, but 
eventually left that institution and returning to Wisconsin made his home with 
his sons in Westford where he now resides. 

George Barstow, Sr., was twice married. On September 4, 1865, he wedded 
Miss Harriett Stair, a daughter of Vine Stair of Otsego, Columbia county, 
and after their marriage they settled on a farm six miles south of Randolph, 
Wisconsin. In 1868 the father of our subject sold this property and moved 
to Iowa, where he purchased land near Fayette; and there he resided for ten 
years. Upon this property his wife met with an accident which caused her 
death. While driving a reaper she fell in front of the sickle which passed 
over her, cutting off one arm and one leg. She died two hours afterward and 
is buried in Iowa. Four children were born to this marriage, those beside 
our subject being: George Jr., whose birth occurred May 21, 1868, and who 
resides in Hampden township, Columbia county; Albert, who was born July 
21, 1870, and who married Miss Grace Phillips, a daughter of Joseph Phil- 
lips, of Courtland township; and Edward, born in 1873, who died in infancy 
and is buried in Iowa. 

George Barstow's second wife was Mrs. Nancy Hewitt, of Kansas, and after 
their marriage they lived upon a farm in that state until the title to the land 
was proved up. They then sold the property on account of the grasshoppers 
and droughts and moved back to Wisconsin where Mr. Barstow has since 
resided. His second wife passed away December 28, 1887, after more than a 
year's illness of paralysis. She is buried at Shopiere, Wisconsin. The United 
States government is in her debt to the amount of ten thousand dollars, money 
due her in compensation for depredations committed by the Indians who made 
three raids upon their farm — in 1867, 1868, and 1869. In one of these skir- 
mishes they shot her first husband, drove off all the stock, crippled her oldest 
son and left her for dead. However, she revived and made her escape. 

John Barstow is truly a self-made man, for he has been dependent upon 
his own resources since he was thirteen years of age. At that time he left 
home and worked his way to Iowa, by laboring in the broom cornfields in 
Kansas and at any occuaption which would bring him an income. After he 
reached Iowa he worked for five years as a monthly laborer and then came 
to Wisconsin where he spent one winter. He engaged in various occupations 
during this time and also went to school, his educational advantages having 
been extremely limited. When he returned to Iowa he remained for two years 
and farmed in association with a partner upon rented land. After some time 
he went to Nebraska and there worked on the railroad for several weeks, 
returning to Iowa overland, driving a team. Air. Barstow crossed Iowa four 
or five different times and his journeys were always through different parts of 
the state. Eventually, however, he settled in Wisconsin, buying land in Colum- 
bia county which he operated and improved for twenty years. In 1910 he 
crossed the dividing line into Dodge county and moved upon his present farm 
upon which he has since resided. He owns ninety-three acres in Dodge county 
and one hundred and twelve acres in Columbia county, seventy-two of which 
are tillable. His soil is rich and the land productive, owing to the care and 
labor which he bestows upon his farm and his property is in excellent condi- 



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tion, making him one of the representative and substantial agriculturists of 
this part of the state. 

Mr. Barstow has been twice married. On September 24, 1890, he wedded 
Miss Mary Bancroft, a daughter of John D. Bancroft, of Courtland township, 
Columbia county. They became the parents of two children: Harvey E., who 
was born on the 24th of October, 1893, and who lives at home; and Earl E., 
who was born October 26, 1897, also at home. Mr. Barstow's first wife died 
June 24, 1905, and is buried in Courtland cemetery. On February 21, 1907, 
he married Miss Emma Radle, a daughter of Martin Radle, of Manchester, 
Wisconsin, and they became the parents of two children: Ervin J. and Eva 
May, twins, born April 25, 1909. The family are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Mr. Barstow is prominent in the affairs of the Masonic 
order. His life record illustrates the power of honesty and diligence in insur- 
ing success. His labors have always been actively, constructively and intelli- 
gently carried forward and have resulted in placing him in the front ranks of 
progressive farmers. 



JOSEPH EDWARD FISCHER. 

Joseph Edward Fischer, a representative and substantial citizen of Beaver 
Dam, has for the past sixteen years acted as superintendent of the Beaver Dam 
Malleable Iron Works. His birth occurred in Berlin, Green Lake county, Wis- 
consin, on the 24th of July, 1859, his parents being Louis and Wilhelmina 
(Schenk) Fischer, both of whom were natives of Germany. In that country 
the father did military duty and in 1846 crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States. He was married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked at the trades 
of blacksmithing and wagon making. At the time of his demise he was a 
resident of Princeton, this state. His religious faith was that of the Lutheran 
church. To him and his wife were born the following children: Mary, Emma, 
Louis, Julia, Joseph E., Rose and George. 

Joseph Edward Fischer obtained his education in the public schools of 
Princeton and Milwaukee and put aside his text-books at the age of fourteen 
years to learn the baker's trade. Abandoning that occupation, however, he 
entered the brass foundry of Hoffman & Bridges and subsequently secured 
employment with the Milwaukee Malleable Iron Works, remaining with that 
concern for four years. On the expiration of that period he became superin- 
tendent of the plant of the Northwestern Malleable Iron Works, acting in that 
capacity for thirteen years. During the next four years he was employed as 
superintendent by the Belle City Iron Works of Racine, Wisconsin. In 1896 
he entered upon his present connection as superintendent of the Beaver Dam 
Malleable Iron Works and has since discharged the duties of that responsible 
position in an efficient and highly acceptable manner. The enterprise has grown 
rapidly during his connection therewith. 

On the 12th of September, 1880, in Milwaukee, Mr. Fischer was united in 
marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Schultz, a daughter of Carl Schultz of that city. 
Our subject and his wife have nine children, namely: Clara, Arthur, Ella. Ilil- 



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ton, Frieda, Minnie, Gertrude, Joseph and Lloyd. Mr. Fischer is a prominent 
representative of the local organizations of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, being past grand of the lodge and past chief patriarch of the encampment 
He likewise belongs to the grand lodge and grand encampment. For two years 
he has served on the board of public works while a member of the city council. 
His life, lived in accordance with high principles and spent in useful endeavor, 
has been of valuable service to the community and proves him deserving of the 
respect he enjoys. 



FRED CHRISTIAN. 

Fred Christian is active in the agricultural implement business which he 
founded in Mayville in 1898 and has been steadily successful because he has 
made his methods of operation practical and effective and adhered to his policy 
of honest and straightforward dealing. He was born in Theresa, on Febru- 
ary 27, 1865, and is a son of Fred and Fredricka Christian, natives of Ger- 
many. They came to Theresa in 1843 an d settled on a farm of one hundred 
and sixty acres, upon which the mother died in 1886, when she was sixty years 
of age, and the father in 1888, at the age of sixty-five. 

Fred Christian was one of a family of ten children, his three brothers, Her- 
man, Charles and Ferdinand, all are residing in Theresa. He went to school 
in his native section and remained upon his father's farm until 1897. In that 
year he came to Mayville and in 1898 established himself in the business with 
which he is at the present time identified. He carries a general line of agricul- 
tural implements and always strives to keep his stock modern and complete. 
His constantly growing patronage is an evidence of his success which is impor- 
tant enough to give him a place among the leading business men of the city. 

On December 3, 1888, Mr. Christian was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
Budha, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Budha of Theresa. Mrs. Chris- 
tian was born in that city on March 30, 1870. She died in Mayville, on the 
28th of March, 1910, at the age of thirty-nine, leaving two daughters, the 
elder of whom, Alma, was born September 29, 1889, and the younger, on the 
9th of March, 1901. 

Mr. Christian is a plain and practical man who has labored persistently for 
the success 1 which he enjoys and has made a record during his many years as a 
merchant for integrity which is beyond question and upright methods which 
require no disguise. 



LOUIS KOHLHOFF. 

Louis Kohlhoff, who is farming one hundred and thirty-two acres of fine 
land on section 23, Clyman township, is a native son of Wisconsin, born in 
Watertown, January 26, 1869. His father, John Kohlhoff, came from northern 
Germany to Wisconsin, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for a num- 



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ber of years. He died in Watertown, at the age of sixty-four. The mother 
of our subject, who was in her maidenhood Miss Johanna Zastrow, was born 
in Germany and now resides in Watertown, having reached the age of sixty-two. 

Louis Kohlhoff was educated in the public schools of his native city and as 
a boy helped his father with the work of the farm. After laying aside his 
books he spent one year in a cheese factory but when he was twenty-nine years 
of age began his independent career. At that time he purchased the farm of 
one hundred and thirty-two acres upon which he resides, and has since given 
his entire attention to its improvement. Throughout the years he has steadily 
carried forward the work of development, has built a fine new barn and a silo, 
remodeled the house and repaired the old buildings and moved some of the 
smaller ones. He does general farming and is also extensively interested in 
dairying, having made both branches of his work profitable. 

In 1899 Mr. Kohlhoff married Miss Ida Irven, who was born in Watertown, 
November 8, 1877. She is a daughter of Carl and Alvina (Utach) Irven, the 
former a native of Germany, born May 4, 1850, and the latter of Lebanon 
township, where her birth occurred December 18, 185 1 . Mr. and Mrs. Kohl- 
hoff have six children : Arnold, born July 26, 1900, who is attending school ; 
Esther, whose birth occurred November 2, 1902; Walter, born June 18, 1904; 
Irma, born August 8, 1905; Edwin, November 8, 1908; and Leona, Decem- 
ber 12, 191 1. The family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Kohlhoff 
is not identified with any political party, preferring to vote according to his 
personal convictions. He does not take an active part in the public life of his 
section, preferring to devote most of his time to the management of his farm. 
His methods have always been modern and practical and his standards of 
integrity high, and he has, therefore, won in the course of years a degree of 
success which places him in the front ranks of progressive agriculturists in 
this part of the county 



ROBERT E. BLOEDEL. 

Robert E. Bloedel is one of the highly respected citizens of Waupun, of 
which he has been a resident since 1903, and has filled the position of deputy 
warden of the State Penitentiary at Waupun since 1911. He was born in 
Germantown, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1875 and is a son of Philip and 
Mary (Fahl) Bloedel, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father 
is by trade and occupation a blacksmith and now resides at Markesan, Green 
Lake county, Wisconsin. 

Robert E. Bloedel was reared at home and received his early education in 
the public schools of Green Lake county. After completing his elementary 
course of study he learned the blacksmith's trade and in 1903 settled in Wau- 
pun, where he opened a blacksmith shop and engaged in the blacksmithing 
business, to which he continued to devote his attention until 191 1, when he 
was appointed by the warden of the State Penitentiary at Waupun, the Rev. 
Daniel Woodward, as deputy warden, which position he has since filled. 



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On July 4, 1898, Mr. Blocdcl was united in marriage to Miss Woodward, 
a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Woodward, of whom extended mention is 
made in the sketch of Rev. Daniel Woodward, published in another part of 
this work. Mr. and Mrs: Bloedel are the parents of two children, Marion L. 
and Amy May. 

Mr. Bloedel is a member of the Woodmen Camp and is a popular and highly 
respected citizen of Waupun. He is a man of powerful physique, weighing 
two hundred and fifty-five pounds, large of bone and strong of muscle, but 
he is kind of heart and most of all just in all matters pertaining to his position. 
He is in every way making a creditable record for himself in the responsible 
and trying position, he holds. 



JOHN H. McCAIG. 

The name of McCaig needs no introduction to the readers of this history, 
for it has been prominent upon the records of the agricultural development 
of Dodge county since pioneer times. The active representative of the family 
is John H. McCaig, who is in charge of the Indian Garden Creamery in Shields 
township and one of the best known and most successful business men in this 
part of the state. He was born in the section in which he now resides, Janu- 
ary 21, 1870, and is a son of James McCaig, a native of Ireland and one of the 
earliest pioneers in the settlement of Wisconsin. He came to America when 
he was still a child, making the journey across the Atlantic with his father, 
Archie McCaig, who settled in Shields township, Dodge county, in early times. 
He bought a tract of land, which was covered with a dense growth of timber, 
and with resolute energy he cleared it of trees and grubbed up the stumps. 
With the lumber cut down he built a crude log cabin, in which, like hundreds 
of other Wisconsin pioneers, he lived while the arduous work of development 
was begun. Gradually, however, he opened up the farm and put it in a high 
state of cultivation. Upon this property James McCaig, the father of the sub- 
ject of this review, grew to manhood. Even as a child he was obliged to help 
in the clearing of the timber, brush and stumps and in the various other duties 
connected with farming in pioneer times. After he had attained his majority 
he went west to the Pacific coast and lived in California, Oregon and other 
sections of the west for eleven years, engaging principally in mining. At the 
end of that time he returned to Wisconsin and settled on the family homestead 
in Dodge county. He married, in Shields township, Miss Margaret McPhilip, 
who was born and reared in this section. His widow survives him and resides, 
with other members of her family, upon the homestead. 

John H. McCaig is the eldest of a family of ten children, all of whom 
grew to maturity. He was reared upon his father's farm and his education 
was acquired in the public schools of Shields township. After laying aside 
his books he served an apprenticeship of one year in the cheese-making busi- 
ness and then started upon his independent business career, taking charge of 
a large cheese factory. This line of work he has followed since that time and 
for the past thirteen years has been manager of the Indian Garden cheese fac- 



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tory, one of the largest and most important concerns of its kind in this sec- 
tion. Some idea of the extent of Mr. McCaig's activities may be gained from 
the fact that the factory under his charge uses about two million pounds of 
milk every year. 

Mr. McCaig married, in Shields township, January 8, 1896, Miss Mar- 
garet Dowd, a native of Dodge county and a daughter of James Dowd, one 
of the pioneer farmers of this section. Mr. and Mrs. McCaig have seven 
children, Frances, Marie, Josephine, Eugene, Edmond, Isabell and Cincila. 

In his political views Mr. McCaig is a stanch democrat and has adhered to 
the principles and policies of that party since casting his first vote. He has 
always been actively and intelligently interested in public affairs and has taken 
a prominent part in the work of public-school expansion. In this connection 
he served as clerk of the board for a number of years and did able and useful 
work in that capacity. In 1912 he was elected town clerk of Shields and is 
discharging his duties conscientiously and always with a view to the general 
welfare. A native of Dodge county, Mr. McCaig has spent his entire life in 
this section and has been identified with one of its principal business interests. 
During the years he has proved his possession of many sterling qualities, for in 
both the public and private relations of his life he has been upright, straight- 
forward and honorable. 



William Caughlin is manager at Clyman for the Watertown Grain Company 
and his salient business qualities well fit him for the responsibilities that devolve 
upon him in this connection. He was born November 18, 1885, in Clyman town- 
ship, near the village in which he still makes his home, a son of James and 
Catharine (Reinehr) Caughlin. The father's birth occurred in Holyoke, Massa- 
chusetts, August 16, 1848, and the mother was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, 
May 16, 1864. James Caughlin has always been a farmer and much of his life 
has been spent in this state. He came with his parents to Clyman township 
when a lad of about five years, was reared in this district and when a young man 
purchased land and began farming on his own account. He now occupies an 
attractive home on a fine farm adjoining the corporation limits of the village, 
having one hundred and sixty acres of productive land and also owning another 
farm about two miles distant. He is still busily engaged in the cultivation of 
his fields, and in addition breeds Durham cattle, both branches of his business 
proving profitable. 

William Caughlin is the eldest in a family of thirteen children. His youth 
was devoted to obtaining an education in district school No. 5 of Clyman town- 
ship and to the work of the home farm. He assisted his father in tilling the 
fields and caring for the crops up to the time of his marriage, after which he 
was employed by the railroad company for a short period, acting as assistant 
foreman in the yards at Clyman Junction. He then accepted his present position 
as manager for the Watertown Grain Company, in which connection he has 
charge of the elevator, buys grain and does other business for the firm in this 



WILLIAM CAUGHLIN. 




HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



477 



place. His operations are quite extensive and he well merits the confidence of 
the company which he represents. 

On the ioth of May, 1910, Mr. Caughlin was married to Miss Margaret 
Metzger, who was born in Clyman township, May 25, 1887, a daughter of Joseph 
and Margaret (Engelhart ) Metzger, the former born in Clyman township in 1850 
and the latter a native of Watertown, Wisconsin. Mrs. Metzger died when her 
daughter, Mrs. Caughlin, was a little maiden of about fourteen years. The 
father has always followed farming and has spent his entire life in Dodge county. 
He still owns a farm of one hundred and thirty acres, which is operated by his 
son, while he makes his home in the village, having retired from active business 
cares. Mr. and Mrs. Caughlin also occupy an attractive residence in Clyman, 
near his place of business. He holds membership in the Roman Catholic church 
and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, but political honors 
and offices have no attraction for him, as he has always preferred to concentrate 
his energies upon business affairs, knowing that the road to success is the path 
of industry and perseverance. 



EDMUND MARDEN. 

Since 1869 Edmund Mardeh has lived upon his present farm of sixty acres 
of productive land on section 20, Westford township, and by hard work and 
intelligently directed activity has made it one of the excellent properties of the 
neighborhood, its improved condition being entirely the result of his energy 
and enterprise. He has lived in Wisconsin since he was ten years of age but 
was born in England on the 9th of May, 1844, a son of George and Mary (Ready) 
Marden, natives of that country. The father was born in 1822 and came to 
America when he was thirty years of age, settling in Cayuga county, New 
York, in 1852. Here he remained for two years, coming at the end of that 
time to the vicinity of Fox Lake, where for three years he carried on general 
farming. At the end of that time he moved to property just across the highway 
from the farm now operated by our subject and improved this tract for a 
number of years, eventually selling it and making his home with his son. He 
died in 1900 and is buried in Westford cemetery. The mother of our subject 
was born in England and died in Wisconsin in 1884. She is also buried in 
Westford cemetery. In their family were eight children. James served his 
country as a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting at Lincoln's first call for volun- 
teers as a member of the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was killed 
at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Ezekiel married Emily Ann Shong and 
they resided in Westford. Her death occurred one year later and she is buried 
in Fox Lake cemetery. The second wife of Ezekiel Marden was Miss Carrie 
Dau and they make their home in Otter Tail county, Minnesota. Edmund, the 
third in order of birth, is the subject of this review. Peter married Hattie Ashley 
and they now reside in Randolph, Wisconsin. George died in infancy. Re- 
becca married David Evans, of Westford, where his death occurred. She is 
now residing in Randolph, Wisconsin. Mary was born in New York, and is 
now deceased. Jane completes the family. She married James Johns and her 
death occurred in Westford. 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



Edmund Marden was educated in the district schools of Dodge county and 
has followed agricultural pursuits all during his active career. He married in 
1869 and immediately afterward settled upon his present property, which he has 
brought to a highly improved and excellent condition by intelligent planting and 
cultivating and by erecting the necessary barns and outbuildings. The entire 
tract is under cultivation and upon it Mr. Marden carries on general farming 
and stock-raising and also operates a threshing machine. 

In 1869 Mr. Marden was united in marriage to Miss Annie Bradford, a 
daughter of George Bradford, of Westford, and to their union were born three 
children. Frederick, born September 5, 1871, left for the west on May 30, 
1910, and has not since been heard from. George was born November 13, 1877, 
and passed away in 1891, his remains being interred in Westford cemetery. 
Edward, the youngest member of the family, was born July 13, 1884. He 
married Laura Lewis, a daughter of John Lewis, of Westford, and they reside 
with the subject of this review. 

Mr. Marden is one of the substantial and enterprising farmers of his section 
and in his successful labors is representative of the most modern agricultural 
methods and standards. 



SAMUEL A DROWN. 

Samuel A. Drown is a native of Minnesota but has been a resident of 
Dodge county practically all his life. He is numbered among the enterprising, 
substantial and progressive farmers of Beaver Dam township, where he operates 
a fine tract of sixty acres on section 1, bringing to his agricultural pursuits 
an energy, industry and determination which have made him rapidly successful. 
He was born June 19, 1866, and is a son of Amasa and Helen (Day) Drown, 
the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of New York. The father 
came to Dodge county when he was only seven years of age, settling here with 
his parents about the year 1845. The latter were among the early pioneers here, 
the father's death occurring on November 23, 191 1, when he was seventy-three 
years of age, while his wife survived him by four years, being seventy-five years 
old when she died. Both are buried in Oakwood cemetery. Amasa Drown 
was for many years active in county political affairs. He was chairman of the 
town board and was otherwise prominent in local democratic circles. 

Samuel A. Drown is the second in a family of three children. He remained 
at home until he was twenty years of age and then went to the city of Beaver 
Dam, where he clerked in a store for some time. He later conducted a fruit 
and confectionery establishment for three years, gaining distinct and substantial 
prosperity by hard work and honorable methods. Eventually, however, he 
returned to the homestead and has since made this his home. He carries on gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising and operates a sanitary dairy, selling the products 
of this branch of his enterprise to a neighboring cheese factory. He milks ten 
cows daily and raises high-grade Holstein cattle, feeding his stock with the hay 
and all the grain which he raises with the exception of his barley, which he sells 
in the Wisconsin markets. He is operating the land formerly owned by his 



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father and grandfather and all the improvements were put upon it in the early 
*days. It is all under cultivation with the exception of fifteen acres. Mr. Drown 
is well known in the section in which he resides and prominent in various lines 
of activity. He served for three years in Company K, Wisconsin National 
Guards, and is deeply interested in local growth and improvement. He is a 
stockholder in a cheese and butter company which is operating near his home 
farm and is treasurer of that organization. He is independent in his political 
beliefs, voting according to his personal convictions. 

In 1894 Mr. Drown was united in marriage to Miss Cora B. Grant, a daughter 
of Albert N. and Mary E. (Smith) Grant, the former a native of Dodge county 
and the latter, of New York state. The parents are both of New England 
ancestry. They were married in this section and settled in Beaver Dam, where 
the father has been active in business circles for many years. He is now living 
in that city in the sixty-sixth year of his age. His wife also survives and is 
sixty-three years old. Mr. Grant is well known in Dodge county, where he has 
spent his entire life. He enlisted for service in the Civil war in a Wisconsin 
Regiment and served during the entire period, never having been wounded or 
taken prisoner. Mr. and Mrs. Drown became the parents of seven children, 
of whom Fred Clark, the sixth in order of birth, passed away at the age of 
eight months. Those living, are Samuel Elmore, Helen Esther, Emerson Newell, 
Ethel Marie, Hazel Irene and Warren Ellery. 

In his political views Mr. Drown is independent of lines and parties, voting 
according to his personal convictions. He takes an intelligent interest in the 
affairs of his community but has never sought public office. He is one of the 
sterling and substantial citizens of Dodge county and has met with success in 
a field of labor which has repaid his practical methods and his unflagging indus- 
try by constantly increasing prosperity. His farm is a credit to his progressive 
agricultural standards and to his business judgment and is a valuable addition 
to the resources of his section. 



RICHARD C. HUGHES 

Richard C. Hughes is a native of Wisconsin and is a son of a pioneer in the 
settlement of Calamus township, where he is successful as a general agriculturist, 
cultivating the farm which his father acquired in early times as a preemption 
claim. He is thoroughly progressive and up-to-date in his methods and is num- 
bered among the representative citizens of the section in which he was born. 
His natal day was October 1, 1863, and he is a son of Richard A. and Eleanor 
(Jones) Hughes. His father was born in North Wales, July 31, 1817, and came 
to America in 1842, being seven weeks upon the ocean. He settled first in 
Remsen, New York, where he worked at his trade of blacksmithing until 1849. 
During' the first month of his residence in America his income was five dollars 
but he was later more successful. In 1849 he came west, locating on a farm on 
section 17, Calamus township, in the early days of the settlement of that district 
He purchased a government preemption claim and began the cultivation of his 
property. He improved the place with modern buildings, installed labor-saving 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



machinery and brought his land to a highly developed state. On February 8, 
1843, ne married Miss Eleanor Jones, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Jones' 
of Remsen, New York, and to their union were born ten children, three of 
whom died in infancy. The others are : William J., .who is married and lives 
in Houston, Minnesota; John, who was for ten years clerk of Calamus town- 
ship and who died in Columbus, in 1899; Hannah, who makes her home in 
Columbus; Thomas, who is married and lives at Mankato, Minnesota; Mary 
Ellen, who passed away in Chicago, in 1881 ; Jennie who married W. C. Ten- 
Eyck, of Chicago, in which city she died in 1882; and Richard C, the subject 
of this review. The father of our subject was one of the early settlers in 
Dodge county and was well known in the section in which he resided. When 
he left Remsen, New York, he made the trip by the Erie canal to Buffalo 
and then by steamboat to Milwaukee, where he lived for one year before 
he finally settled upon the farm which his son now operates. He was a 
type of the sturdy and upright farmer of pioneer times and was in all things 
a worthy and representative citizen. 

Richard C. Hughes spent his childhood upon his father's farm in Calamus 
township and was educated in the district schools. When he grew to manhood 
he lived for fifteen years in the township of Fountain Prairie, in Columbia 
county, and in 1909 moved, to the old homestead where he has since resided. He 
is carrying on general agriculture upon this property and is making his fields 
productive through practical and systematic methods. He has gained success 
by reason of his industry, well directed activity and experienced knowledge and 
is ranked among the prosperous and substantial farmers in the section in which 
he resides. 

Mr. Hughes has been twice married. On December 19, 1895, he wedded 
Miss Hattie Jones, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jones, and to their 
union was born one son, James H. Mrs. Hughes passed away on November 4, 
1898, in the thirty-eighth year of her age and on the 18th of April, 1900, our 
subject married a sister of his first wife, Miss Jennie Jones. 

Mr. Hughes takes an intelligent interest in the progress and growth of his 
native section although he never seeks public office. He belongs to the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias and is active in the 
affairs of the Equitable Fraternal Union. He is thoroughly up-to-date and pro- 
gressive as a farmer and is justly numbered among the important men of the 
section. His life has been quietly passed and stands for honesty, integrity and 
high principles. 



ALVIN A. BUTTERBRODT. 

A native son of Dodge county and one of the representative and promising 
young agriculturists, stock-raisers and dairymen of this section is Alvin A. 
Butterbrodt, who is operating and improving one hundred and eighty-one and 
one-half acres on sections 17 and 20, Burnett township, where he makes his 
farming productive and remunerative by adhering to the standard of practical 
labor. He was born February 7, 1885, and is a son of Ernest and Ida (Zulkc) 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



481 



Butterbrodt, natives of Germany, who came to America at an early date and were 
married in Wisconsin. They now live in Trenton township. 

Alvin A. Butterbrodt was the second in a family of nine children born to 
his parents. He was educated in the district schools and aided his father in 
the minor duties of the farm. When he had attained his majority he worked 
upon neighboring properties for wages for two and one-half years, accumulating 
during that time six hundred and fifty dollars, with which he engaged in farm- 
ing for himself, purchasing land in Trenton township. Here he carried on 
general farming and by industrious methods and hard work succeeded in acquir- 
ing a sum of money which enabled him in 191 1 to begin operations on a larger 
scale. He rented an extensive property and having sold all his cattle, invested 
the proceeds in high-grade Shorthorns and at the present time has several pure- 
breed Holsteins. He does general farming and stock-raising and specializes 
in dairying, selling his milk to a neighboring cheese factory. He raises hay and 
grain for feed for his cattle and breeds also Percheron horses and Poland China 
hogs. He is known as an expert in this branch of activity and his judgment 
is held to be weighty and influential. 

In the fall of 191 1, Mr. Butterbrodt was united in marriage to Miss Bertha 
Rau, a daughter of Herman Rau, of Green Lake township. Mrs. Butterbrodt 
was born March 23, 1894, and is the third in a family of five children. In his 
political beliefs Mr. Butterbrodt is a democrat but has never been an office 
seeker. He and his wife attend the Lutheran church at Beaver Dam. 



WILLIAM GANSKE. 

William Ganske is one of the estimable citizens and capable agriculturists of 
Beaver Dam township, where he owns a hundred and forty acres of land located 
on sections 21 and 22. He has always been a resident of Dodge county, where 
his birth occurred on the 14th of April, 1867. He is of German extraction, as 
the name would suggest, his father, August Ganske, having been born in Lud- 
wigsdorf, Germany, on the 9th of September, 1833. At the tender age of three 
years, he was left an orphan and thereafter made his home with an uncle, 
Stephen Ganske, until the latter's death. He was thereafter dependent upon 
his own efforts and being without home ties, he in 1855, joined some friends, who 
were coming to America and took passage at Hamburg for New York city. 
Upon reaching Watertown, this state, he parted from his friends who continued 
their journey to Minnesota, while he went to the town of Clyman. There he 
worked on the railroad and also for the farmers in that section, following 
any occupation which enabled him to earn an honest living. Later he began 
farming for himself as a renter and in 1858 bought eighty acres of wild land, 
which he cultivated with the diligence and enterprise of the man, who is deter- 
mined to succeed. Later he increased his holding by the addition of another 
forty acre tract adjoining, and here for many years he pursued his agricultural 
career, making his one of the finest farms in the section. In August, 1862, he 
went to the front as a member of Company H, Wisconsin Volunteers. The 
exposure and hardships of the march and camp life made him an easy victim 



482 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



of malaria and after many weeks spent in the hospital he was honorably dis- 
charged, returning to Trenton in the spring of 1863. He once more turned 
his attention to the cultivation of his farm, to which he brought his wife on the 
18th of October, 1863. Her maiden name was Margaret Anna Krause, and she 
was a resident of Oak Grove, but a native of the state of Massachusetts. To 
them were born six children : Anna Rosena, who passed away in 1903 ; William, 
our subject ; John and Albert, who reside in Trenton township ; and Mrs. Charles 
Waddell and Charles, residents of Beaver Dam. The mother passed away on 
June 4, 1900, and soon thereafter, the father with his daughter, Anna, and son. 
Charles, came to Beaver Dam to make his home. Here on September 2, 1903, 
he was married to Miss Ida Weidman, who passed away on January 3, 1908. 
Mr. Ganske continued to make his home at 318 De Clark street, Beaver Dam, 
where his death occurred on the 6th of March, 191 1, at the age of seventy-eight 
years. He was buried from Assembly Presbyterian church, of which he had 
long been a member and was for many years a ruling elder, the services being 
conducted by the Rev. T. S. Johnson. He was a man of high standards of 
conduct, upright principles and unquestionable integrity, and was accorded the 
respect and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances, many of whom had 
known him for nearly half a century. 

Luxury was unknown to the youth of William Ganske, but he had the advan- 
tage of being reared in a good Christian home and early had instilled in him 
the principles which enabled him to develop into a self-reliant man and respected 
member of society. His educational advantages were limited to the course 
of study provided by the district schools, and while engaged in the mastery of 
the common branches he was qualifying himself for the career of an agri- 
culturist by assisting his father with the tilling of the fields and care of the 
crops. He remained under the parental roof until he was married at the age 
of twenty-five years, and then engaged in farming for himself on the place 
he now owns. His entire tract is fenced with barbed wire and a hundred and 
fifteen acres of it is under cultivation. In connection with diversified farming 
he engages in stock-raising and dairying, marketing his hogs and part of his 
grain. His horses are the Norman breed, while his cattle are Durham and his 
hogs Poland China. Mr. Ganske has expended a large portion of his income 
from his farm in improvements, his being one of the most attractive and best 
kept properties in the locality. In 1911, he remodeled the residence, which con- 
tains thirteen rooms, and provided it with modern appointments. It is heated 
with a furnace, and a drilled well supplies water for house and barn. In 1908, 
he erected a new barn, thirty-six by sixty-six feet with cement floor, which 
provides ample shelter for his stock. 

In i892 r Mr. Ganske was married to Miss Nettie Keefer, a daughter of 
Leonard S. and Mary (Rose) Keefer, natives of Ohio and the state of New 
York respectively. They came to Wisconsin in early life and were subse- 
quently married in this county, where for many years the father engaged in 
farming. They are now residing in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, where he 
is continuing his agricultural pursuits and also engages in buying grain. Mrs. 
Ganske is the second in order of birth in a family of three, and was born on 
the 20th of June, 1865. She is the mother of four children, the eldest of whom, 



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483 



Carroll, died at the age of three and a half years. In order of birth the others 
are Louis, Cora and Mabel. 

The family attend the Assembly Presbyterian church at Beaver Dam, in 
which the parents hold membership. Mr. Ganske votes with the republican 
party and served for three years as clerk of the school board. He is a man of 
much earnestness of purpose, energy and determination, and in the develop- 
ment of his interests is meeting with the success which invariably results from 
the intelligent utilization of such qualities. 



WILLIAM GREENWOOD WATERWORTH. 

William G. Waterworth has been engaged in farming since the beginning 
of his active career and is living upon a fine tract of one hundred and forty 
acres on section 30, Westford township. Upon this he carries on general farm- 
ing and stock-raising and is meeting with the measure of success which rewards 
earnest and well directed labor and special efficiency. He was born in Court- 
land township, Columbia county, in January, 1856. His father, Thomas Water- 
worth, was a native of Lancashire, England, born in 1815, and came to America 
in 1852, settling in Courtland township, Columbia county, upon a farm upon 
which he died in 1898. He is buried in Courtland cemetery. His wife was in 
her maidenhood Miss Sarah Greenwood and was born in Yorkshire, England, 
in 1814. Their marriage occurred in 1836 and Mrs. Waterworth came to 
America with her husband, dying upon the farm in Courtland township in 
1893. She also is buried in Courtland cemetery. They became the parents 
of twelve children. Elizabeth was born in 1837 and died in infancy, and is 
buried in England. Mary, who was born in 1838, married Benjamin Crowther, 
who is now deceased. He was buried in Courtland cemetery, Columbia county, 
and his widow makes her home in Springvale, Wisconsin. Isaac, who was 
born about 1839, died in infancy and is buried in England. Grace, bora in 1841, 
is residing in Westford. She is the widow of Joseph Phillips, whose remains 
rest in Courtland cemetery. Hannah, born in 1843, lives in Seattle, Washing- 
ton. She married James Hatton, who died in 1908 and was buried in Fountain 
Prairie, Wisconsin. Wright, born in 1845, married Martha Bender and they 
make their home in Fountain Prairie. Thomas, born in 1847, married Lucy 
Bennett, who died in 1897 and was buried in Courtland cemetery. His second 
wife was Eliza Bennett, a sister of his first wife. His death occurred in 191 1 
and his widow resides in Randolph. Sarah, born in 1849, married Demos 
Nashold and they reside in Otsego, Columbia county. Susanna, born in 
1852, married Clark Gravel, of Courtland. She died in 1904 and was buried in 
Courtland cemetery. John, born in 1853, married Christina Braendersdorf and 
they live in Columbus, Wisconsin. William Greenwood, of this review. Jane 
Elizabeth, born in 1858, married Frank Reak and they reside on the old home- 
stead in Courtland township. 

William G. Waterworth was educated in the public schools of his native 
section and fanned upon his father's holdings until two years after his mar- 
riage. He then moved to his present property, upon which he is still residing. 



484 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



His farm comprises one hundred and forty acres, one hundred and twenty 
acres of which are under cultivation. He has it in excellent condition, accom- 
plishing this result by following the most practical and progressive methods. He 
raises cattle of all grades and makes a specialty of this branch of his activities. 

On December 25, 1886, Mr. Waterworth was united in marriage to Miss 
Helen May Alvord, a daughter of Clark and Elizabeth (Bostwick) Alvord, and 
they became the parents of four children: William, who was bom April 1, 1888; 
Guy LeRoy, born May 9, 1892; Hazel Ilia, born February 23, 1896; and Jennie 
May, born March 6, 1901. As a native son of Wisconsin, as a successful agri- 
culturist and a thoroughly upright and honest man, Mr. Waterworth is justly 
entitled to the high place which he holds in the respect and esteem of his 
fellow citizens. Prosperity has crowned his efforts and his excellent farm is 
evidence of the usefulness and value of his work. 



WILLIAM CHARLES SCHOENFELD. 

William Charles Schoenfeld is one of the active and progressive farmers who 
in their successful cultivation of the soil by modern methods are adding much 
toward making Dodge county one of the rich and productive sections of the 
middle west. He is operating over four hundred acres of land on sections 21 and 
22, Beaver Dam township, and is doing efficient work as a general farmer, stock- 
raiser and dairyman. He was born upon the farm which he is now managing, 
April 1, 1872, and is a son of William and Mary Schoenfeld, the former a 
native of Germany and the latter of Austria. The father came to America when 
he was twenty-two years of age, settling about the year 1850 in Trenton town- 
ship, where he purchased forty acres of land which he improved and cultivated 
for one year. At the end of that time he sold his original property and pur- 
chased the tract of land upon which our subject now resides. He married in 
Beaver Dam and followed agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred 
in 1882. His wife survived him for three years and both are buried in the old 
Beaver Dam cemetery. 

Mr. Schoenfeld is one of a family of eleven children. He was reared upon 
his father's farm and attended the district schools of his native section. His 
father died when he was eleven years old and his older brother was appointed 
administrator of the estate. When Charles Schoenfeld became of age he inherited 
the place upon which he now lives and has been active and prosperous as a 
general farmer and stock-raiser since that time. He has three hundred and 
twenty acres in hay and grain, which he feeds to his stock. His farm is well 
equipped for the carrying on of a model agricultural enterprise. It has thqee fine 
barns one hundred feet long by thirty-six feet wide, which were built by the father 
of our subject and remodeled by Mr. Schoenfeld in 1906, when he added fifty 
feet to their lengths. The water for all purposes is supplied from a drilled well 
upon the property and the stock is watered from springs in the pastures. Mr. 
Schoenfeld also operates a dairy, keeping forty-five graded Shorthorn and 
Holstein cows for this purpose and selling the milk and cheese to a neighboring 
creamery. His straightforward business methods and his industry and determin- 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



465 



ation have aided and hastened his success. lie is practical and therefore pros- 
perous, and his expert knowledge unites with his well directed activity as the 
basis of the gratifying success which has crowned his efforts as a farmer and 
stock-raiser. He resides in the comfortable and commodious home which his 
parents erected upon the farm and which he has remodeled several times, mak- 
ing substantial improvements in the spring of 191 2. 

In January, 1894, Mr. Schoenfeld was united in marriage to Miss Edith 
Schultz, a daughter of Carl and Minnie (Grunewald) Schultz, of Beaver Dam. 
Mrs. Schoenfeld was the fifth in a family of seven children and was born on 
January 25, 1875. Sh « and her husband have two children: Harrison McKinly, 
who is sixteen years of age and lives at home; and Lillian Lewilda, who has 
reached the age of eleven. 

In his political views Mr. Schoenfeld is a consistent republican and served 
for two years as a member of the school board. He and his family are mem- 
bers of the Evangelical church of Beaver Dam. He is a farmer of the modern 
school. His methods are scientific, while eminently practical and consequently 
he obtains results and his enterprise is successful in all its aspects. 



WILLIAM C. GEITTMANN. 

William C. Geittmann has been conducting his present flourishing grocery 
store in Beaver Dam since 1905 and in the intervening years has built up an 
extensive patronage which is the natural result of his systematic. business meth- 
ods and his honorable principles. He was born in the city, in which he now 
resides, February 4, 1878, and is a son of Frederick and Dorothy Geittmann 
His father was a native of Germany, where his birth occurred in 1838. He 
was educated in that country and during his term of service in the army par- 
ticipated in the Franco- Prussian war as a member of a cavalry regiment. He 
belongs to the German Lutheran church and is widely known as an exemplary 
and honorable man. When he came to America he established his residence in 
Wisconsin, settling first in Watertown and later in Beaver Dam where he now 
lives at the advanced age of seventy-four years. He and his wife became the 
parents of eight children: Frederick, who is thirty-seven years of age and is 
in the wholesale hat business in Milwaukee; William C., the subject of this 
sketch; Edith, now Mrs. C. M. Baird, of Evanston, Illinois; Edwin, an attor- 
ney at law in Kansas City, Missouri ; Herbert, who is in business at Camp 
Douglas, Wisconsin ; and Elmer, Mary and Minnie, all of whom reside in 
Beaver Dam. 

William C. Geittmann was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and 
pursued the usual course of study until he was fourteen years of age, when he 
found employment with an iron manufacturing concern, remaining in that 
connection until 1894, when he returned to Beaver Dam in order to take up a 
position with the Newton & Wcry Company. This employment continued until 
1902, when he severed his connection with the enterprise and accepted a posi- 
tion with Jordan & Pfeiffer, with whom he was for one year. At the end 
of that time he became identified with the grocery business, conducting a suc- 
cessful concern with John Kohler. His store was located on Spring street and 

Vol. II-2S 



486 



HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



he did an increasing business in that part of the city for two years. Mr. Geitt- 
mann later sold out his interest to his partner and purchased the grocery store 
belonging to Mr. McLaughlin. He has been an independent merchant since 
1905, and has carried on his continually growing business along modern and 
progressive lines. He now has one of the largest grocery stores in Beaver 
Dam and his patronage has increased as the quality of his goods becomes more 
widely known. 

Mr. Geittmann was united in marriage to Miss Florence Hentz. Mrs. Hentz 
is one of five children born to her parents, the others being Fred, Christ, Lewis 
and Emma, all of whom reside in Milwaukee. To Mr. and Mrs. Geittmann has 
been born one child, William Frederick, on April 1, 1909. 

Mr. Geittmann takes an intelligent interest in public affairs although he never 
seeks office. He affiliates with the Lutheran church and to this religion his wife 
also gives her allegiance. He belongs to the Masonic order, holding member- 
ship in the lodge and chapter. He is also affiliated with the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows' and is a corporal in the Wisconsin National Guards. As an 
honest, thrifty and successful tradesman he is representative of a class of mer- 
chants whose business methods seek no disguise and who build up their pros- 
perity on incorruptible principles. 



ELMER STAAB. 

Elmer Staab is a member of the firm of Staab Brothers, proprietors of a 
livery stable in Beaver Dam. The business was originally the property of a 
Mr. Edgerton, but for some time has been owned and conducted by the present 
firm. The father of our subject was born in Germany and came to America 
in antebellum days. He served his adopted country as a soldier in the Union 
army and is still living in Beaver Dam. 

Reared in this city, Elmer Staab was a pupil in the public and high schools 
and afterward in the Wayland Academy. He likewise attended the Spencerian 
Commercial school of Milwaukee and for six years he was a teacher in South 
Beaver Dam. Between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four years, he attended 
the Wayland School of Music, while his brother is a graduate of Gilbert's Com- 
mercial school. Since engaging in the livery business Elmer Staab has met 
with good success. Their livery barn is fifty-four by one hundred feet, and 
the firm owns a good line of vehicles and a number of horses and their reliable 
business methods are a strong factor in their success. 



CHARLES A. PETTIBONE. 

Charles Alexander Pettibone is one of the honored veterans of the Civil 
war and holds the position at present of official translator of the French, Italian 
and Spanish languages at the State Penitentiary at Waupun, where he resides. 
He was born in the town of Hartsville, Steuben county, New York, May 26, 



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497 



1841, and is a son of Daniel and Hannah (Fuller) Pettibone. The founders of 
the American branch of the Pettibone family from which the subject of this 
review is descended were among the early Huguenots, who emigrated from 
France to England and from there to this country before the Revolutionary war, 
and among the ancestors of Mr. Pettibone were loyal soldiers in the American 
war for Independence and the War of 1812. The parents of Mr. Pettibone 
came to Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1850 and settled on a farm in Beaver Dam 
township, where they continued to live during the active years of their lives. 
In their family were two children: Charles A.; and Oliver F., both of whom 
served in the Civil war, the latter as a member of the First Wisconsin Heavy 
Artillery. They also reared an adopted daughter, Amanda Hewitt, (Mrs. H. 
B. Drake) who is now deceased. 

Charles A. Pettibone was reared at home and received his early education 
in the public schools of Dodge county. Later he was one of the first students 
who attended Wayland University, Beaver Dam, after which he took a partial 
classical course at Lawrence University at Appleton, Wisconsin. On the open- 
ing of the Civil war he enlisted on August 15, 1861, in Company C, First Wis- 
consin Cavalry, in which he served as orderly for thirteen months. In 1862 he 
was promoted to a second lieutenancy in Company C and later received the rank 
of captain of Company I, First Wisconsin Cavalry. During his time of service 
in the army he took part in thirty-two of the forty-five different battles credited 
to the regiment and for a considerable proportion of his time he was acting 
assistant quartermaster of the Second Brigade and of the First Division, C. C, 
Department of the Cumberland, to which the First Wisconsin Cavalry was 
assigned. He was honorably discharged and mustered out of service on March 
8, 1865. Company I, to which he belonged, originally numbering one hundred 
and four men, counted only twenty-three survivors at time of muster out. Recom- 
missioned captain, February 25, 1865, Mr. Pettibone declined. During the war 
Mr. Pettibone published a paper at Cleveland, Tennessee, for the benefit of his 
command. Immediately following his discharge from the United States army 
he returned to Wisconsin and for some time was engaged in school teaching 
and in farming. In 1874 he established the New London News in Wisconsin, 
which he conducted for a short time. In 1877 he founded the present Juneau 
Telephone at Mayville, Wisconsin, which paper was the first in the United 
States to be called the Telephone. The paper was subsequently moved to Juneau. 
He then purchased the Horioon Reporter in 1886 and during that year he was 
elected to the state senate. In 1898 he sold the Horicon Reporter and later he 
and his sons purchased the Oconomowoc Democrat and changed the name of 
that periodical to the Oconomowoc Republican, which they published for a few 
years and later disposed of. They then purchased the Watertown Republican, 
which the subject of this review published for two years and then sold. He 
has since lived in Waupun, where he gives some of his time to the service of his 
son-in-law, Mr. Sanborn, proprietor of the Waupun Leader. He was sergeant- 
at-arms of the senate for eight years after he served as a member of that body 
and he now holds the banner record for length of service as sergeant-at-arms 
of the senate. 

On May 26, 1865, Mr. Pettibone was united in marriage to Miss Emily M. 
Brown, a daughter of Jonathan C. and Harriet (Hurlbut) Brown. The parents 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



were Pennsylvanians and settled in Wisconsin at a very early period. The 
father was by trade a shoemaker and later engaged in the hotel business in Juneau, 
Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Pettibone five children have been born: Jennie 
May (Mrs. H. E. Turner) of Chicago; Hannah Lorejia (Mrs. W. A. Sanborn) 
of Waupun; Allie E., who is engaged in teaching at Ripon; Daniel C, chief 
clerk of the eighth division of the railway mail service, with headquarters at 
San Francisco, California; and Stanley A., who is the head of a department 
of the Otis Elevator Company, of Chicago. 

Mr. Pettibone is a member of Waupun Lodge, No. 48, F. & A. M., having 
become a member of the order at Beaver Dam in 1865. He also belongs to the 
chapter and is a member of the -Odd Fellows order. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic and in 1907 was assistant adjutant general for the 
state. Mr. Pettibone is one of the substantial and reliable citizens of his city 
and county and a man who has so lived as to merit and obtain the good-will 
and high esteem of all his associates. 



FRANK F. ELLIS. 

Frank F. Ellis is a native of West ford township and a son of a pioneer in 
its settlement. He is living retired in Reaver Dam, after an active life spent 
entirely in agricultural pursuits. He was l>orn in 1863. His father, Jason Ellis, 
was a native of New York, who came to Wisconsin in the early '40s and pur- 
chased a part of the farm which is now owned by the subject of this review. 
He never operated this land but went immediately to the vicinity of Oshkosh, 
where he worked in a sawmill for a number of years. He then went to Green 
Bay where he engaged in a similar line of occupation and afterward returned 
to New York where he remained for alxmt two years. Returning to West- 
ford, he purchased the farm now owned by C Starkweather on section 36 and 
upon this he settled. It was a tract of uncultivated timber land entirely unim- 
proved and Mr. Ellis built a log cabin upon the property which he afterward 
covered with clapboards, split from oak trees. All this work he did himself and 
shaved them down with a hand-draw shave. He also split and shaved by hand 
all the shingles with which he roofed his house. He was among the earliest 
settlers in this section of the country and was obliged to haul his wheat to 
Milwaukee with ox teams and after selling his load had often barely enough 
money with which to pay his expenses on the return journey. It took over a 
week to make the trip to Milwaukee and back and Mr. Ellis related how the 
settlers, being obliged to go to Milwaukee to secure flour, were often without 
this necessary commodity. They would go into the woods and cut a section of 
log, hollow out one end and in this crude utensil pound wheat with a wooden 
mallet to make flour. They treated corn in the same way, making a rough 
brand of cornmeal and upon this they lived until they could obtain supplies 
from Milwaukee. He also used to tell of the year when pigeons came in such 
numbers that they ate up all the seed as fast as it was sown. The father of 
our subject planted three times in that year and, yet, he did not secure a full 
crop. The family was obliged to live on potatoes and what wild game they 



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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY 



4H9 



could shoot in the surrounding woods and for a period of six months did not 
taste any food made from flour. Jason Ellis married in 1849 Miss Elizabeth 
I^Crann, who was born near Strausl>erg, Germany, and who came to the United 
-£fates in 1848, crossing the ocean alone. She settled in New York and there 

m employed in making cheese until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Jason 
have both passed away and arc buried in tlie cemetery on English Prairie, 
section 15, Westford township. In their family were the following children: 
Francilla, who was born in 1853, and who married Dwight Hall, of Long 
Prairie, Minnesota; Metta, who was born in 1855, and who married Henry 
Kienberger, also of Ixing Prairie; Minnie, who was born in 1857, and who 
married Edward Teal, of Beaver Dam ; Frederick, whose birth occurred in 
1859, and who died of scarlet fever when he was eight years of age, and who 
is buried in the cemetery on Long Prairie; Cynthia, who was born in 1861, 
and who became the wife of August Kaul, of Westford township; William, 
who was born in 1865; Jason, whose birth occurred in 1867, and who lives in 
Long Prairie, Minnesota; Inez, who was born in 1870, and who died at the 
age of eight years; and Frank, the subject of this sketch. 

Frank F. Ellis was educated in the public schools of his native section and 
has always been engaged in agriculture. He married in 1885 and for two years 
afterward worked in the employ of Orrie Williams. He then rented a farm 
for two years and finally moved upon the property where his son now lives. 
This he operated on shares for his father until the latter's death and then 
assumed entire management. The farm comprises one hundred and twenty-six 
acres, of which one hundred and five arc tillable, and is located on section 
36, Westford township. Mr. Ellis brought this enterprise to a highly improved 
and developed state by constantly adhering to progressive methods and modern 
standards. He recently abandoned agricultural pursuits and is living retired 
at No. 323 Grove street, Beaver Dam. 

In 1885 Mr. Ellis was united in marriage to Miss Ella T. Swan, and they 
became the parents of four children: Alvin, who was born in 1886, and who 
lives at home; Frank, who was born in 1888; Chester, who was born in 1890, 
and who lives at home; and Fay, who was born in 1892, and who married Miss 
Paula Hinkus. He is now operating his father's homestead and is mimlrered 
among the progressive and enterprising farmers of the section. 

Mr. Ellis has been a farmer all his life, having been identified with agricul- 
tural pursuits since his early childhood. Prosperity has crowned his industry 
and well directed activity, making him one of the representative and sub- 
stantial farmers of his district and he has earned his present retirement by 
diligent labor in the past. 



INDEX 



Albert, Ferdinand 356 

Anderson. H_ J. S 70 

Anthony. Van Wyck 468 

Arndi. E. L 159/ 

Bacilli iiber, J. G aS. 

Bachhuber. L. M. 310 

Baird. R, J 423. 

Barstow, J. E. 370 

Bartelt, F. G joo 

Bartelt. Herman .239 

Bartsch, E. A .375 

Bar wig, Byron .340 

Batsch, G. F 414 

Bauer, F. S aoj 

Bauer, George 254 

Bavlev, R. W itS 

Becke'n, \V. H 113 

Becker, H. A 115 

Becker, ~J7 B 463 

Bechert, H. E 3j 

•Beichl, Edward 31 

Bergen. Henry 205 

Bertel, A. A 143 

Beske, Gustav 30° 

Bcule, Peter IBB 

Beyer. W. M : 105 

flicchl. R. A. . ../ U 

Bilgrien. Herman' 248 

Biniel. R P Hz 

Bloedel, R. E 474 

Sodden. Frank 77 

odden, John .2S3 

oehmer. Henry 304 

loeing. Edgar 14 

lohnenstengel, William 2® 

lonner, Nelson 41 1 

/Rrayman John IS2. 

'Brooks, Joseph, Sr 308 

Brown, E. P & 

Brown. L \V 3J91 

runke. Frani 35j 

unnell, J. A 200 

urger, Jacob 1S4 

lurke, M E L42 

Rurn<-. J. F W4 

{u«se« it*. A. H_. 44 

liillcrbrodt. A A 

Butterbrodt. E E * 

Sutterbrodi, F. T 

tntterbrodt, R H_ 404. 



!allahan. Patrick '9' 

.ampbcll. S 

:arroll. J. H 



M 

11 



Carroll, T. P 
Carrol), Michael 
Casey, Michael 
Caughhn, William 
Chandler, A. B 
Charmley, R. A 
Christian, Fred 
Christiansen, C. A 

Clark, A. J 

Clark, R. F. 

Clausen, F. H 

Clifford, E.~fT~ 
Clifford, John 
Clough, Albert 
Clough, Alfred 
Cochrane, E. T 
Congdon, F. F. ... 
Cutler, G. W 



Deri van, James 
Dehne, Frederick 

Dick, J. J 

Dickinson, John 
Docter. C. W. 
Dornfeld, E. P 
Draheim, G. E. 
Drake, R. C 
Drown, S. A. 

Edmunds, E. B 
Eggleston, C. H 
Ellis, F. F.... 
Elser, George 

Elser. S. C 

Erdmann, A. C 
Evans, J. T 
Evans. Rebecca 
Evison, J. K 



Falk; J. W 

Falkinham, William 
Feelyater. E. M 
Fellenx, Henry 
Firehammer, Ctrl 
Fischer, J. C 
Fischer, J. E 
Flanmgan. L. N 
Fletcher, D. F 
Fletcher. R. M... 
Flohr, Gustavus 
Forkmann, |T_ H 
Frank, Andrew 
Frebcr, Henry 
Fredrick. Willinni 



421 



IM>»A 



Freeman. Edward n8 

Freeman, John 7_8 

Freeman. J. J , , , 130" 

Froemming, John , .464 



Keelev. L. S 
Keller\ S. C. 
Kelley. John. . 
Kienow. F. A 
Klink, N. M 
Koch. A. A.. 
Koepsell. A. J 
Kohlhoff, Loui< 
Kohlmann, L. R. 

Roll. Jacob 

Kraetzncr. W. F 
Kraut. Rudolph 
Krohn. F. W 



Gantke. William .481 

Gchhardi. F. \V 8ti 

Gehrke, 0. A ,400 

Geittmann, \V. C 48* 

Gtnrick, Alb«n .426 

Genrich, A. A. ,224 

Gerbitz, \Y. J. F 132 

Gilmore. H- S 239 

Glander. Henry 2& ; Kronitr. Frederick 

Goeggerle, R A 1H1 Kronitz, L. E 

Goetsch, A. A aLu $ Kruegcr. 11 E 

Grams. O. A .420 Krucgrr. R. F 

Grebel, C F .^57 Krueger. J. R 

Griepentros. C E. \V 140 cKrueger, William 

Grimmer. W. G 47 Kuehn, Ernst 

Griner, J. C 116 Kuhaupt, G. W 

Gronert, August 171 

Guenthcr, E. F .347 

Guenther, Rudolph .jot 



Haessly, Nathan 322 

Haner, E J 101 

Ham, Owen ..US 

Harvey. C. W . ..m 

Hathaway, C. W .447 

Hawk*. Charles .34X 

Healy. J. G. 7J 

Heckman, William i=U) 

Helbing. C. W T1B9 

Helling. Fred .337 

Hemmy, T. P 7J 

Herker. P. B ..242 

Herrick. T. J .144 

Hilgendorf, Carl 27 

Hitter. J. D Sj 

Hinkes. J. N .252 

Hoard, H. H 3S6 

Hodgins, G. M 48 

Holdridge, S, A , .204 

Holtz, tL M rfgg 

Hooker, C. E 369 

Hosig. F. J. 163 

Hotchkiss, D. J 306 

Howard. W. C *>7 

Hoyer, A. A 2.fl' 

llubl>ell, 1L B U4 

Hughes, J \V .403 

Hughes. R. C- . j'u 

Dusting. O. C 

H listing. P. O jW> 

I Instil John 39S 

Hull), Thcodor 107 

illinp. O F 63 

Irving. Rnlieri 3F3 



lacoh-. IL S 
Jacobs. M A 
leil'c. A A . 
lone-. 1 R . .. 



- > 

«os 



Jours. O R .424 

Jones. S R .0/' 

Jr>m->. \V L *\o 

K.-uliiic. C A 4 1 < j 

Kar«iei>. A. C ij 



LamorettN. D. P 
Langenfeld, P. F 
Lawrence, A. P 
Lehmann. Theodore 
Leslie, G. E 
Lightner, J. S 
Lindeman. F. F. L. 

Linden, G. M 

Loehrke, J. A 
Loo mans, J. A 
Lueck, A. W 

Lueck. E F 

Lueck. F. W 
Lueck. IL L 
Liiedtke. A C. W 
Lyons, Ellen 

McAdams, John 
McAdams. J K 
McCaig. J ILL 
McCall. F. L: 
McClure. J X 
McConaghy, H. A 
McFctridge, E. C 

Mallon. T. R 

Malonc. J. E 
Mnnlcy. J. M 
Manning, Michael 
Marden. Eilniiiuil 
Markham. C A 
Mnrtniardl. A A 
Marqnart. J 1 

Marsh. F. A 

Marsh, Harrv 
Matthr-.. F. H 
Maurcr. Richard 
Mcncrl. R F 
Mes-cr. W. Jl 
Mtl/Rir. A N, 
MrUger, ]■ J . . . 
Mrt/pcr. loscph, Jr 

Miller, C C 

Millet. H. k 
Miller. I W 
Miltsen." 1 L. 
Milton. William 
Mirfach. F. J . . . . 
Mclir. Martin 
M<.lllun. Jirlin 



INDEX 



Moldenhauer, Eugene .372 

Morgan, fcL L ..333 

Morse. G. \V .T46 

Moylan. J. C ..jfe 

Mueller, Jacob .3711 

Muth, John ..338 

Naber, EH 28a 

Nihrr , O. D 298 

Neuman, I. J .137 

Newton, T L 92 

North. C. F .235 

Norton, E. B 82 

Noyes, A. F 173 

O'Brien. J. D ..446 

CVConror, Eupene .362 

Oestreich, E. C .103 

Ohnstedt, T. W ..100 

Otto, R. F ZllS 

Owen, W. R. ..271 

Owens, Lewis .243 

Pinetti, P. A ..178 

Parker, E. E ^qq 

Patton, E. B ..316 

Pautsch, Carl .T20S 

Pautsch, E. F .312 

Pautsch, Herman 370 

Pautsch, L. C TTu 

Perkins, T. P .y 

Pettibone. C. A 

Pfeffer. Peter 210 

Pichery, F. C 380 

Pieper, Carl 1^5 

Plasil, J. J ..286 

Plasil, F. F 23 

Pluck, J. W 86 

P olzin, R. H, 244 

Potts. A H 392 

Pritchard. William .467 

Randall. S. M ..408 

Rassman, O. EL 155 

Rehfeld. E. C 52 

Rex, Emil 159 

Richards, Evan ^122 

Richardt, Henry 1 39 

Richtrr, Frank .177 

Riege. J F 30 

Roberts. H_ T ..466 

Roberts. R F 417 

Roberts. R. T 349 

Roberts, William _jfi3 

Roffeis, J. P v 8 

Rohde, J. M ?«. 

Roll, Richard, Sr jgj 

Rorschneider. Herman .119 

Rousseau. G. R. 324 

Roweii. t. b rrS 

Ruecker, Gustav gjg 

Ruedebusch, C. F ^52 

Ryder, A. F. q 

Sawyer, J. E 67 

Schlaebitz, C W .247 

Schoen. R. E 2 

Schoenfeld. W. C 

Schoenwetter, A. W 



«Schultz, Frank ... 
»Schultz. 1. R 

• Schultz. W. F 

t Schulze, E. J 

» Schulze, L. E 

Schumacher, J. J... 
Schunemann, W. F 
Schsalbach, C. G.. . 
Schwantes, Albert 
Schwantes, Herman 
Schwantes, H. W.. . 
Schwann, W. T.... 

vSchwefel, Q^Jl.... 

tSchwefel, W. J 

•• Schwefel, W. P 

Sears, H. B 

• Seifert, A. H 

Sette, Frederick 

Shafer, -William 

Sherman, B. F. 

Sherman. H. B 

Sherman, J. H, 

Simon, E. W. 

Simon, L. J 

Sleight, W. T 

SrnlrhrC E 

Smith; G. W. 

Snyder, J. T 

Spiering, Yl. E. 

Staab, Elmer 

Stacy. W. D 

Starkweather, Courtney 
Steger, John 

• Stueber, fcL J. C 

Swan, G. B 

Terry, D. B 

Theisen, G. W 

* Thielke. H. J... ........ 

Thomas, R. £ 

Tietema, J. H 

Uehling. E. M 

Van Brunt, D. C 

Van Brunt, W. A 

Velte, H. A 

Verg, F. H 

• Voigt, Julius 

flVolkman, A. D 

eVolkmann, William 

Voorus, C. W 

Wagner, Joseph 

Walsh, T. T 

Ward. Charles 

Warren, W. E 

Washburn, A. A... 
Waterworth , W. G 

Webb. E. P 

Weber. Gebhard... 
Wedemever. Hiram 
Wegener. W. J 
Wegner, Reinhold 

Welsch, J. A 

Welsch. J. N 

Wenger, Christ... 

Wenz. E. C 

- Wheeler, C. A 



494 INDEX 

While, Philander 24 Young, L. J. 

Wilcox. A W 50 

Witliami W. W *nt ">n»n, J M 



William*. W. W 40s , , 

Woock, A. F 102 ^J'cglcr. J L 

WocxJwird, Daniel 218 fc Ziemer, Herman 

Zimmerman, A. A- 

Yorgey, D. K 2j6 Zink. P. J 

Young, Albert 222 Zweck, J. V 



J 

I 



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